Flowey Blooms 2: LOVE of Sans
by semiticgod
Summary: A sequel to Flowey Blooms. Asriel, Frisk, and Chara, free of the demon's control, have a new life on the surface. But when Papyrus goes missing, they realize that the demon has awakened. Asriel and his friends must help Sans rescue his brother from the demon's power, or they may lose control of the timeline itself. Please review. Because eventually, the ending will depend on it.
1. Chapter 1: Deceit

I pull the covers over my head.

"Why did you have to pick this movie, Frisk?" I ask. "This is way too much."

Frisk snuggles closer.

"It's not that bad." They say. "Just squeeze my hand and it will be okay."

"I've _been_ squeezing your hand." I say. "It's still too scary."

They pause the movie, so I take the blanket off of my face.

"Why did you want to watch this?" I ask Frisk. "You don't like scary movies."

"Chara does." Says Frisk. "I thought they deserved a treat."

"Frisk didn't pick this movie for me." Says Chara, smiling. "They picked it because they knew it'd scare you."

"Why scare me?" I ask.

"Because whenever you get scared," says Chara, nudging me, "you cling to Frisk really tight and won't let go!"

"Huh?"

"Frisk just wanted an excuse to snuggle up to you!" Says Chara.

I look at Frisk.

" _That's_ why you picked this awful movie?" I ask.

"No! Not at all. Of course not. Maybe."

"Frisk, you can't trick people like that!" I say.

"But you're so soft and fuzzy!" They say. "And it worked, didn't it?"

"Frisk! You actually-"

"I was kidding." Interrupts Chara. "This movie was my idea, not Frisk's. I was just teasing you."

"Oh."

"But Frisk _has_ spent a lot more time watching _you_ than watching the movie." Says Chara.

"I can't help it." Says Frisk, putting their hands on my face. "I can't tear my eyes away from you, Asriel…"

I sigh.

"Can we watch something less scary?" I ask. "Please?"

"All right." Says Chara.

Chara starts looking for another movie. Frisk clings to my side.

"You're like a leech." I say. "You latch on and won't let go."

"No, I'm more of a barnacle."

I throw off the covers and sit up.

"It's boiling in here." I say. "Whenever you pet me too much, my fur gets hot."

"I _know_." Whispers Frisk. "And I love it."

"Stop drooling on my shirt."

"No."

Chara shows me a different movie.

"Yes." I say. "That looks great."

"I thought you might want something sweet and sappy." Says Chara.

"Thanks."

* * *

The doorbell rings. We pause the movie and hop out of bed. Mom must be home early. We run out to the front door to let her in.

But Mom isn't there. It's Sans. Chara steps away—they get shy around new people. Frisk gives Sans a hug.

"I missed you." They say.

"hey, guys." Says Sans. "uh, is your mother home?"

"No, she went out for groceries." I say. "She won't be here for another half hour."

"She left _me_ in charge, because _I'm_ the cutest." Says Frisk, still holding onto Sans.

"all right." Says Sans. "can i wait here until she gets back?"

"Sure." Says Frisk. "Wanna watch a movie with us?"

"uh… nah, that's okay." He says. "i'll just sit down."

We bring him to the kitchen and I get him some ketchup.

"thanks, asriel. you're a good kid."

He downs most of the bottle and sinks onto the table.

He seems subdued. He's not normally this quiet.

"Where's Papyrus?" I ask.

His shoulders sink.

"yeah… that's actually why i'm here." He says. "i wanted to speak to toriel about it."

He puts his head in his hands.

"Sans? What's wrong?" I ask.

"i don't actually know where papyrus is."


	2. Chapter 2: The 49 Pieces

Mom gets home early. She finds us sitting at the table with Sans.

"Sans! What a pleasant surprise!" She says. "I have not seen you in ages! Um… It is very late, though… do you need to stay the night?"

Sans doesn't answer. He's shaking.

"What is the matter, Sans?" She asks.

"papyrus is gone." He says. "he just…"

"He vanished a few days ago." I explain. "We don't know what happened to him."

"Did he leave a note?" Asks Mom.

"no." Says Sans. "and we already had plans for that day… he got a job at a restaurant and he wanted…"

I hug him.

"Don't cry, Sans."

"he was going to ask about the linguini." He says. "he wanted to learn how to make it. he was so excited… he didn't have any reason to run off; i know he wouldn't have left on his own."

"Why do you think he left?" Asks Mom.

"i… i need to see the trunk." Says Sans.

"Oh. All right." She says.

Mom leaves the room. She comes back with a trunk.

"What's in the trunk?" Asks Chara.

Mom opens it up. Sans digs through the contents and pulls out a little gadget with a screen.

Sans turns it on and the screen lights up. Mom and Sans study it.

Sans curses.

"What is it?" I ask.

Sans gets up and starts pacing. Mom sighs.

"What's wrong?" I ask. "What's going on?"

"it's a scanner." Says Sans. "do you remember the message the old asriel left us? after he last got out of the underground, he split himself apart."

"I remember." I say. "Part of him became Chara, and part of him became me."

"And part of him became Chara's old demon." Says Mom.

"which he broke into pieces and hid in several people." Says Sans. "it was the only way to keep the demon pinned down. he had to split it up so it wouldn't be strong enough to control anyone."

"So the scanner…"

"The other Asriel left us this trunk, with some instructions in case things went wrong." Says Mom. "The scanner is designed to track the demon."

"we monitored the demon for weeks after asriel split apart." Says Sans. "nothing changed, so we thought asriel's plan had worked. we thought the demon was dormant."

"There should be 49 little dots." Says Mom, examining the screen on the scanner. "One for every piece of the demon. But there is only one."

"the demon came back together." Says Sans. "it found a way to escape its hosts."

Sans gets back in his seat and drinks the rest of the ketchup. He shoves away the bottle and buries his face in his hands.

"So the demon took over Papyrus." I finish.

"yes."

"I am so sorry, Sans." Says Mom.

"i should have expected this." Says Sans. "i should have known this would happen."

"You could not have seen this, Sans." Says Mom. "No one could."

"papyrus was too innocent." He says. "of course the demon would target him. he was vulnerable. i should have seen this coming."

"What can we do?" I ask.

"i have to go find him." Says Sans. "i need to talk to him and get him to reject the demon."

"How are you going to do that?" Asks Mom.

Sans starts digging through the trunk again. He's going awfully fast.

"asriel didn't understand the demon completely, but he had some theories about it." Says Sans. "he might have some information here about how to get it out of papyrus… i've already read everything twice, but maybe i missed something. maybe there's a clue here, something that could…"

Mom kneels down next to Sans and holds him.

"It is very late, and you are tired." She says. "You can read more in the morning. Now you should rest."

"i guess."

"If you're going to find Papyrus," says Frisk, "could I come with you?"

We look at them.

"You are just a child, Frisk." Says Mom. "You have had more than enough danger in your life already!"

"that's actually a good idea, toriel." Says Sans. "frisk has determination. more than anyone else in the world, according to the files asriel left us."

"Really?" Asks Chara.

"it's the only reason frisk was able to enter the underground in this timeline, and prevent flowey from resetting." Says Sans. "with flowey constantly resetting, the only way somebody could enter the underground was if they had enough determination to override flowey's. since flowey had such an unnatural amount of determination, only extremely determined humans could do that."

"I actually control the timeline." Says Frisk. "Whoever has the most determination controls it."

"frisk should come along." Says Sans. "that determination practically makes them a god."

"Maybe not a god." Says Mom. "But very determined."

"if something bad happens, they can reset the timeline and fix it." Says Sans. "they're the best help i can get."

Mom sits down across the table.

"What about their education?" She asks. "They are still in school."

"I can always reset and come back." Says Frisk.

Mom grimaces.

"This seems important." Says Frisk. "If the demon is loose, I need to help find it. And if Papyrus is in trouble, I want to help him."

"They are just a child, Sans." Says Mom.

"i might need them anyway." Says Sans. "we don't know how strong this demon is. none of us knows it personally, except for chara."

"I don't remember much from that time anyway." Says Chara.

"this might be too much for me, toriel." Says Sans. "that's why frisk could help. i'd actually like you to come along as well. i thought about asking asgore as well, and alphys and undyne."

"All of us?" Asks Mom.

"you guys are the only ones i know i can trust." Says Sans. "and i may need help getting papyrus back."

"I…"

"please." Says Sans. "if not for papyrus, then for me… i don't want to live without my brother, toriel."

"I will help you." Says Mom. "But what do we have to do?"

"we need to get asgore and alphys and undyne." Says Sans. "we'll use the scanner to track down the demon… and maybe something in this trunk will let us figure out how to get it out of papyrus without hurting him. we'll just have to see."

"What about Chara and Asriel?" Asks Mom. "I cannot leave them behind."

"well…"

"I cannot take them with me, either!" She says. "Especially Chara. What if the demon tries to possess them again?"

"They're safe with me." Says Frisk. "I can always reset if they get hurt."

"Sans, you are asking me to put my children in danger." Says Mom. "I want to help, but not at their expense! I have… I have seen enough children die already."

"I can reset, though." Says Frisk.

"What if the demon takes control of _you_?" Asks Mom. "Then what will happen?"

The room goes quiet. If the demon took control of Frisk somehow, the demon would control the timeline. The demon would control everything.

"we'll just have to keep that from happening." Says Sans.

"How?" Asks Mom.

"i don't know…"

"Then is it not more dangerous for Frisk to get close to the demon?" She asks.

"i don't know." Says Sans. "i just want my brother back."

Mom sinks into her chair.

"If the demon is out there, we have to go get it." I say. "The demon wanted to take over the world, didn't it? It's not going to stop with Papyrus. It's going to come after Frisk sooner or later."

"We should go to bed." Says Mom, standing up. "We can discuss this in the morning."

Mom pulls us along to brush our teeth and then tucks us into bed.

"I want to help Sans." I whisper.

"I know." She says. "So do I."


	3. Chapter 3: Biting the Fish Hook

I find what I'm looking for. Buried among Asriel's theories on souls and determination, I spot the binder labeled "The Demon."

Maybe I can find something new here. Maybe I missed something important.

* * *

On the Demon: General Remarks

Chara's demon is an anomalous entity partially disconnected from space and time. It has a tenuous link to our world, but persists across timelines despite having no determination of its own. It possesses two dominant motives: to survive in our world, and to destroy everything else in our world.

In order to affect our world, it must attach itself to something that is, in some way, similar to itself. It can switch from one body to another, but this process takes time. Once it has latched onto something in our world, it is difficult to extricate itself.

The demon can only latch onto things with which it has a _link_. Unless it has time to manipulate somebody into becoming a better vessel, it can only hijack very specific people, such as Chara.

Chara is a fearful, angry child with an innate predisposition towards violence and sadism. This made Chara an ideal candidate to serve as the demon's host. It was only due to (very) prolonged exposure to Asriel that Chara appeared more or less normal, and even this was just a mask.

…

If the demon somehow finds a way to escape its hosts, it will likely attach itself to Chara or someone similar to Chara— _a person with a great deal of fear or anger and a latent desire to cause harm_.

* * *

"I do not understand." Says Toriel. "Papyrus never seemed to be a very fearful or angry person. And he never wanted to hurt anybody. Why would the demon choose him?"

"the demon used to have 49 hosts." I say. "one of them might have had something in common with papyrus. since the demon was bonded to that person, the demon might have used that similarity as a bridge to papyrus. once it made that link with the host, it could have transferred it to papyrus."

"Doesn't that seem a little strange?" Asks Asriel. "Why would Papyrus be a good host for the demon?"

"If there were 49 other hosts," says Toriel, "I suppose it is reasonable to guess one of them might be similar to Papyrus in some way."

"But those 49 people could have had _anything_ in common with _anybody_." Says Asriel. "The demon could have used them as a bridge to lots of people. What are the odds the best host would just happen to be somebody we know? Why wouldn't the demon take over somebody we wouldn't notice was gone? That way, it wouldn't have to worry about us following it."

I sink into my chair. This just gets worse and worse.

"the demon wasn't even after papyrus." I say. "it's just using him to get to us."


	4. Chapter 4: The Ultimate Pasta

_It's this way, Papyrus. The secret to the perfect pasta._

"I CAN'T WAIT! FINALLY, THE LAST TOUCH TO ADD TO MY MASTERPIECES! TELL ME, IS IT A NEW SPICE? A SPECIAL COOKING TIME? A SPAGHETTI DANCE TO THE GODS?"

 _Patience. All will be revealed in time._

"WHAT KIND OF PASTA WOULD IT BE? IS IT A CHEESE-BASED SAUCE? THE CREAMINESS IS KNOWN TO ADD A DISTINCTIVE FLAVOR… OR IS THE TOMATO TRULY THE CROWN JEWEL OF THE PASTA KINGDOM?"

 _Well, the-_

"AND THE NOODLES… IT MUST BE SPAGHETTI! SURELY NO PENNE OR ELBOW PASTA COULD LIVE UP TO THE REPUTATION OF THE KING OF NOODLES!"

 _Ah, yes, it's a spaghetti noodle._

"BUT PERHAPS LINGUINE AND CAPELLINI COULD COME CLOSE…"

 _It's just spaghetti, Papyrus. Now-_

"IT IS SO CLOSE! I CAN ALREADY SMELL IT… EVEN IF I DON'T HAVE A NOSE. BUT A LACK OF SMELL AND TASTE IS NO OBSTACLE TO THE CULINARY SKILLS OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

 _Yes, yes. Now hurry! The secret of the ancient spaghettores is written in mysterious runes on the wall of a cave inhabited by prehistoric pasta makers. Follow me to the east, and you will find the key to unlocking your true potential._

* * *

"ER… THIS IS STRANGE. THESE RUNES ALMOST LOOK LIKE GRAFFITI."

 _Yes, the ancients deliberately kept their writings in code, lest their secret ingredient fall into the hands of their enemies._

"ENEMIES? WHO COULD EVER BE THE ENEMY OF A FAMED PASTA MAKER?"

 _Uh… The makers of hot dogs._

"WHAT? HOT DOGS?"

 _Exactly. The makers of hot dogs have long opposed the art of pasta._

"THAT'S ODD. UNDYNE WAS THE ONE WHO TRAINED ME HOW TO MAKE PASTA… BUT SHE ALSO WAS A TRUE MASTER OF THE ART OF HOT DOG MAKING!"

 _Well, that was a different time. Today's hot dog makers no longer oppose pasta. But they did in the time when these runes were written._

"AHA! THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. I CAN SEE IT NOW: TWO CULINARY ARMIES MARCHING INTO THE MARKET, DOING BATTLE WITH HOT DOGS AND SPAGHETTI NOODLES!"

 _It was a very chaotic time, yes._

"HOW DID THEY EVER MAKE PEACE? WHEN DID THEY FINALLY UNDERSTAND THAT ALL COOKING IS-"

 _The details aren't important. Let's focus on the runes._

"THE RUNES, YES. SO… HOW DO I READ THEM?"

 _You must-_

"WAIT, I RECOGNIZE THIS ONE! THIS IS ONE OF UNDYNE'S FAVORITE WORDS."

 _Actually, that's also in code._

"OH. CAN YOU HELP ME READ THEM?"

 _You are in luck, Papyrus. I know exactly how you can read them._

"WOWIE! TELL ME HOW! I MUST KNOW THE TRUTH!"

 _To understand the runes, you must make contact with one of the ancient masters. You must bind your soul to them, and if they judge you to be worthy, they will let you read their secrets._

"THAT SOUNDS EASY. I AM, OF COURSE, ALREADY MORE THAN WORTHY OF THEIR FAVOR."

 _That's why I found you. I could tell you would be the perfect disciple. You're the future of the craft, Papyrus. Now, all you need to do is let go of your soul, and allow the ancient masters to absorb it._

"ABSORB MY SOUL? DOES IT HURT?"

 _Of course not. They just need to borrow your soul. Just for a moment. But it has to be a complete transfer. You can't hold back at all, Papyrus._

"DON'T WORRY. I NEVER GO INTO THINGS HALFWAY."

 _You may feel a slight disorientation when it happens. And you may be afraid, and feel a deep coldness inside you._

"COLDNESS?"

 _Yes. Colder than you've ever felt in your life. But I know the great Papyrus is more than prepared to meet the challenge._

"OF COURSE I AM!… BUT STILL… THIS SEEMS A BIT ODD. ISN'T IT NORMALLY A BAD THING TO LOSE YOUR SOUL?"

 _Not at all. It's perfectly safe. It just_ feels _a little unsettling when it happens._

"HM. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS? I'D HATE TO LOSE MY SOUL…"

 _I'm perfectly sure. Now… let go. I will guide your soul through the way. Just put yourself in my hands. I will take care of everything. And ignore the coldness… it doesn't mean anything._

"WELL… OKAY. IF IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE RUNES, THEN I'LL DO IT. YOU CAN TAKE MY SOUL TO THE ANCIENTS."

 _That's right. Just let it go._

* * *

"UH… HM. THIS IS… A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN I EXPECTED."

 _Don't try to hold back. Just relax. It will all be over soon._

"ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME."

 _Of course, Papyrus. You're a good partner._


	5. Chapter 5: The Darkness in Chara

Dad, Undyne, and Alphys finally arrive. Mom and Sans sit down to tell them what happened to Papyrus.

* * *

"Undyne… Undyne, relax." Says Alphys. "We'll find him. He'll be okay."

"It's not going to get away with this." Undyne growls. "I'm going to _annihilate_ this thing."

"Honey, just… put down the spear." Says Alphys.

Undyne drops it on the table and starts pacing. I take the spear and put it out of the way.

"Where is the demon and how do we kill it?" Asks Undyne.

"the demon has been at the same spot for several days." Says Sans. "it's out in the wilderness, a couple days away, in the foothills."

"How do we kill it, then?"

"we're not going to kill it." Says Sans. "we can't touch it without hurting papyrus. we're going to talk to papyrus and get him to shake it off."

"How are we going to get Papyrus to shake off the demon?" Asks Dad.

"we don't know yet." Says Sans. "we'll have to improvise."

* * *

Alphys starts reading up on the demon in Asriel's notes, while Undyne drags Dad outside to spar with her. Undyne also brings Asriel out to teach him to fight, and Chara and I go out to watch.

But when Sans comes out and sees us, he tells Chara to go inside and help Mom. When Chara resists, Sans actually pushes them along.

Sans sits down next to me to watch the others fight.

"What does Mom need help with?" I ask.

"nothing." Says Sans. "i just sent chara inside so they wouldn't see your dad fighting with undyne."

"Why can't they see it?" I ask. "Dad and Undyne are just practicing."

"we need to keep chara away from these things, frisk." Says Sans. "if chara sees people fighting… it could awaken something that the demon could use against us."

"What do you mean?"

He sighs.

"okay… as long as you're going to be resetting the timeline, i should probably let you in on a few things." He says. "but this has to stay confidential, okay?"

"All right. I'm listening."

"frisk, we can't treat chara as if they're just like you and asriel." He says. "you and asriel have been a good influence on chara, but they are a very different kind of person."

"How so?"

"...an example." He says. "asriel and undyne over there… what do you see when you watch them?"

"I see Asriel learning to block." I say.

"you know what you're not seeing, that somebody else might?"

"What?"

"you can also see how to _strike_." Says Sans. "how to _hurt_. how to _kill_. chara might not see things the same way you do. chara might see _possibilities_. chara might see _ideas_."

"What... what are you trying to say, Sans?"

"i'm trying to put this gently." He says. "thing is, some people-"

"Sans!" Calls Undyne. "You wanna join in?"

"no thanks."

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Undyne starts walking over.

"Catch."

She tosses him a spear. He catches it.

"hey undyne." He says. "what's the toughest fish there is?"

"Uh, me?" Asks Undyne.

"no." He says. "it's a-"

"Wait, how is that not me?" She asks. "What kind of fish would be tougher than me?"

"a pike." Says Sans, winking.

Undyne gives him a look.

"Who _is_ this Pike?" Asks Undyne. "You think this guy is tougher than _me_ , Sans?"

"uh…"

"It's a joke, Undyne." I explain. "A pike is a kind of fish. It's also a name for a spear. It's a pun."

"Oh."

"It was funny."

"Anyway, let's teach you how to fight." Says Undyne. "You know how to use a spear, Sans?"

"frisk and i were kind of in the middle of something." Says Sans.

"Really? Well, you'd better be teaching that kid how to fight demons."

"don't worry, i am."

Undyne takes back the spear.

"Hey, Asriel!" She yells.

"Wh-"

"Dodge _this!_ "

Undyne charges at Asriel, howling. Before she can reach him, Dad leaps into action and knocks Undyne aside. She jumps to her feet and starts trading blows with Dad.

They're really going at it. Asriel watches in awe.

"there is another side to chara we don't see." Continues Sans. "a part of them that wants to hurt people. a part of them-"

Our conversation gets interrupted again.

"I wasn't _really_ going to hit him!" Shouts Undyne.

Dad knocks Undyne on her back. He lets her climb to her feet.

"Asgore, you know I wouldn't hurt him." Says Undyne, no longer shouting. "I was just testing his reaction. I wanted to see how he responded to a surprise attack."

Dad's smiling.

"I know." He says. "But what if Tori saw you charging at him like that? She'd kill me if I didn't stop you!"

Undyne bursts out laughing. Asriel and Dad smile at each other.

"i'm sure chara has been perfectly nice to you since they got here." Says Sans. "but things will be very different when the demon starts getting into our heads. we need to keep them away from anything that might awaken it."

"Why? What would happen if they..."

"chara might hurt you, frisk." Says Sans. "chara might hurt everyone. that's why the demon possessed them in the first place."

"They wouldn't hurt me. Chara's my friend."

"they are now." He says. "but that could change. i need you to understand that there might come a time when we're going to fight with chara, and it's not going to be a friendly sparring match like undyne and asgore. chara might try to kill you."

"That's not… that's not true…"

"i'm sure you know a lot about chara," he says, "and i'm sure they've been perfectly nice to you so far. but asriel warned us that chara had some very dark things in their mind, and some very unhealthy urges that they've managed to suppress."

"No. No, Chara isn't-"

"the truth is that if things played out a little differently," He says, "chara might have been even worse than flowey was. i know you love them, but-"

I get to my feet. Sans holds me back

"frisk? frisk, wait."

I shrug him off and run inside. I want to see Chara.

* * *

Chara is in their room, packing clothes.

"Hi, Frisk."

I hug them. They laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. I love you, too." They say. "Just like yesterday, and the day before that."

I bury my face in their shirt.

"Uh… Frisk? Frisk, what's wrong?"

They sit with me on the bed. I wipe my eyes.

"I talked to Sans about you." I say. "He thought you shouldn't see them fighting."

"Why not?"

"He said you had dark things inside you. I told him it wasn't true…"

"What did he say?"

* * *

"He thinks I'd… imagine hurting people?" Asks Chara. "He thinks I'd think of ways to hurt people, if I saw them practicing?"

I nod.

"Frisk, I was just watching them practice." They say. "It was just something to do."

"What if he's right, though?" I ask. "What if there's something bad in you that even _you_ don't know about?"

"Look… listen, if I start thinking weird stuff like that, I'll warn you, okay?"

"Okay."

They hold me really tight. I squeeze them back.

"If I start going crazy, I'll let you know." They say. "Then you can help me get back to normal. Until then, it's just me, all right?"

"I just don't want to lose you." I say.

"Hey… hey, if the demon ever does scramble my brains, you can always reset."

"It won't work." I say.

"What do you mean?"

"Asriel said the demon exists across all timelines." I say. "Even if I reset everything, it would still be there inside you. You'd still be possessed."

"Oh."

I cry into their shoulder.

"Frisk… Frisk, I don't know what's going to happen, but…"

They tilt up my head and look me in the eyes.

"If that demon comes for me, I'm going to fight it." They say. "I like my life here. I don't want anything to change. And if the demon tries to take over, I'm going to do everything I can to stop it."

They kiss my forehead.

"I promise you." They say. "I won't let it get me."

"Okay. Thanks, Chara."

We lie down together and they pet my hair until I fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Papyrus

The next day, we pile into Alphys' and Asgore's cars and get going. I keep my eye on the scanner. The demon hasn't moved yet.

Toriel and I trade jokes to pass the time. Asriel usually laughs; Chara usually groans. Frisk is pretty quiet—more than normal. I think I hurt their feelings when I warned them about Chara. But it's better if they know.

* * *

We reach the place in the evening. I put up my hood to keep off the rain and hop outside. I almost lose a slipper in the mud.

I can't see much through the darkness. A massive crater lies before us. A black lake sits in the middle, drinking in the rain.

"Is it close?" Yells Undyne over the downpour. She already has her spear out.

"it's in that lake." I say. "right there."

We huddle together. Everyone looks worried, except for Undyne. She bounces impatiently.

"thanks for coming with me." I say. "i appreciate it."

"Of course, Sans." Says Toriel.

I give the scanner to Alphys. I might need my hands free.

"listen." I say. "we don't know exactly what we're going to see down there, and we don't know exactly what's going to happen. so we have to be ready for anything."

"Ready when you are." Says Undyne.

"but we're not going to fight it unless we have to." I say. "my brother is still there. we want to get the demon out of him before we try to fight."

"Shall we go?" Asks Asgore.

I nod. We march down to the lake.

* * *

"It's in the middle." Says Alphys, double-checking the scanner.

"I can't see anything." Says Asriel.

"I can." Says Undyne.

She wades into the water to get a closer look.

"Undyne, wait."

Undyne stops. Alphys scurries down to her.

"Just… be careful, okay?"

"Relax. I've sparred with Papyrus before." Says Undyne. "I know all his moves; he can't surprise me."

Alphys wades into the water to hug her.

"Yeah, I love you, too." Says Undyne. "But I'm going to be all right."

Undyne picks up Alphys with her free hand and puts her back on the shore.

"What can you see, Undyne?" asks Toriel.

"Papyrus. Dead center in the lake."

Asgore conjures a flame and tosses it into the air. It drifts across the lake.

We watch it fall. I see Papyrus' silhouette in the light, and then the flame drops into the water.

I can't wait any longer. I step out onto the lake and head towards my brother.

"Hey! Since when can you walk on water?" Asks Undyne. "Wait up!"

I ignore her.

"papyrus!"

He's standing on a small boat, holding an oar. I can't see his face.

"papyrus…"

The boat drifts away when I get too close. I stop.

"pap?"

"THE OTHERS." He says. "BRING THEM HERE."

"what?"

"BRING THEM TO THE CENTER."

"pap, we need to talk."

"TELL THEM TO COME OVER." He says. "THEN WE CAN TALK."

* * *

"Did you talk to him?" Asks Toriel. "What did he say?"

"nothing yet." I say. "he wants to speak to all of us at once. you'll have to swim out to the middle."

I can see their faces in the light of Asgore's fire, and they don't look excited.

"I do not like where this is going, Sans." Says Toriel.

"i'm sorry." I say. "but he won't speak unless we're all there."

"Wish I brought my swimsuit." Says Chara.

"Why bother?" Asks Frisk. "You can always skinny dip."

Frisk starts taking off their shirt. Toriel stops them.

"Do we need to do this, Sans?" Asks Asgore.

I nod, and hate myself for it.

Asgore doesn't ask twice. He wades into the lake and starts swimming to Papyrus. Undyne follows.

"Undyne, wait!"

Alphys gives me back the scanner and falls into the water, doggy-paddling after Undyne.

"I do not like swimming." Says Toriel, stepping into the water. The kids hop in, and I lead them out to the middle.

* * *

We reach Papyrus. I turn everyone's souls blue and hold them in place.

"now can we talk?" I ask.

Papyrus steps off the boat and joins us in the water.

"YES. NOW WE CAN TALK."

He pulls our souls down. I thought he would do this. I hold onto everyone's souls, struggling to keep the others afloat.

It doesn't work very well.

"Sans!" Yells Toriel. "What is going on?"

"Just try to stay afloat!"

The water shifts underneath me. Papyrus grabs my leg and pulls me down.

I don't fight it; I have better things to do. I focus all my energy on keeping the others afloat. They need air more than I do.

Papyrus drags me deeper underwater, and the world goes dark.


	7. Chapter 7: Beneath the Surface

I wake up freezing. I start coughing out water.

"Good. Keep coughing." Says Undyne.

I spend a minute clearing my lungs, and then roll onto my back. My chest hurts.

It's dark. I sit up and conjure a low flame. Undyne is doing CPR on Chara.

"What happened?" I wheeze.

Undyne ignores me. Soon, Chara jolts up and starts coughing their lungs out like I did.

The moment Chara wakes up, Undyne dives into the waters nearby. I hold Chara's hand while they recover.

The last thing I remember was breathing in cold water. I must have started drowning. Where am I now?

I conjure another flame with my free hand, but it's too dim to show me much. We're lying on rock and there's water nearby; that's all I can see.

"Asriel?" Asks Chara. "What happened?"

"We almost drowned." I say. "Undyne brought us back… I think she just went looking for the others."

"Is anyone else around?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Undyne comes back with Alphys, Frisk, and Mom and Dad. Everybody is dripping wet.

"Are you two all right?" Asks Mom.

"Yeah. We've just been waiting here."

Dad sinks to his knees and hugs me and Chara.

"Asriel… Chara… I was so worried." He says.

"We're okay, Dad." I say. "We're okay."

Mom joins the hug. Chara spits out some of our wet fur.

"Blech…"

"Where's Sans?" I ask.

"I couldn't find him anywhere." Says Undyne. "I checked the whole cavern."

"Cavern?" I ask.

Dad tosses a flame into the air. It splits into seven pieces and disperses, lighting up the chamber for a moment. Dark pools of water, stalactites like giant spears, and ribbon-shaped rock formations draped over the walls.

"The lake drained into this cave." Says Alphys. "It sucked us down. I'm amazed anyone survived… You're incredible, Undyne."

"What do we do now?" Asks Chara.

"We need to find Sans and Papyrus." Says Dad.

* * *

Mom and Dad light the way with fire magic. We don't talk much. The cave echoes with the sounds of our footsteps.

Not long after we start moving, we see a lamp post glowing faintly among the stalagmites. When we go over to check it out, we find an icebox sitting beside it. Undyne opens it up.

It's full of monster food and water bottles.

I grab a sandwich and scarf it down. The others hesitate, but only for a moment. We all need to eat.

* * *

"Why would the demon bring us food?" Asks Undyne. "It just tried to kill us."

"I, I don't think it was trying to k-kill us." Says Alphys. "I think it just wants to trap us."

"Why?"

"The demon wants to take control of one of us." Says Dad.

"Yes." Says Alphys. "But it takes time to take over somebody's mind… according to Asriel's notes, anyway… so anyway… um-"

"The demon wants to keep us here until it can switch to another body." Dad explains. "It might be Chara… but I think it is more likely to be Frisk."

"Why Frisk?" Asks Undyne.

"Frisk controls the timeline," explains Alphys, "so naturally the demon will want to control Frisk. But… it has nothing in common with Frisk. So it might have a lot of work to do."

"It is going to try to poison Frisk's mind." Says Dad.

"This was a mistake." Says Mom. "This is just what the demon wanted."

"We _had_ to help Sans." Says Frisk. "We couldn't just let the demon take Papyrus away."

"It might be a good idea to reset, Frisk." I say. "I don't think we're in a good place."

"Not yet." They say. "I want to see what happens first."

"Frisk?" Asks Alphys. "Have you had any… weird… dreams? Since you g-got here? Or daydreams?"

Frisk shakes their head.

"What about you?" Alphys asks Chara.

"No. No, no, no."

"Asriel?" She asks.

"Nope."

"Why isn't the demon trying to contact them?" Asks Alphys.

"This is a waste of time." Says Undyne, hopping to her feet. "We're not going to get any answers until we find the demon. Every minute we spend sitting around here talking is a minute we give to the demon. Let's get going."

We split up to search for the skeletons.

* * *

"WHY AREN'T YOU FIGHTING BACK?" It asks.

"i don't want to." I say.

"AFRAID OF HURTING YOUR BROTHER?"

"why are you doing this?" I ask.

"BECAUSE I CAN."


	8. Chapter 8: Irreversible

"SO TELL ME, SANS. WHAT IS IT LIKE?"

"what is _what_ like?"

"KNOWING WHAT DETERMINATION IS, BUT NOT ACTUALLY HAVING ANY." It says. "WHAT IS IT LIKE, KNOWING THAT EVERYTHING YOU DO IS DOOMED TO BE RESET?"

"you tell me." I say. "you don't have any determination, either."

"I'M NOT LIKE YOU." It says. "I MIGHT NOT HAVE DETERMINATION, BUT I PERSIST ACROSS TIMELINES. MY MEMORY NEVER GETS ERASED. IF FRISK RESETS THE TIMELINE, THEY STILL WON'T BE ABLE TO PREDICT ME. DETERMINATION IS NOT ENOUGH TO STOP ME."

I lean against the wall and slide down to the ground. It hurts too much to stand.

"WHAT IS IT LIKE," the demon asks, "TO KNOW YOU CAN'T SAVE YOUR BROTHER?"

I want to fight back, this is Papyrus. One wrong move and I could hurt him instead of the demon. I don't want to take that risk.

"what are you trying to do?" I ask. "you could have killed me a long time ago, but you won't do it. is papyrus holding you back?"

"Sans… what makes you think Papyrus is even _here_?"

Its voice sounds different.

"what are you talking about?" I ask.

"Maybe I got rid of Papyrus." It says. "Maybe I killed him!"

"you…"

"Maybe there _is_ no Papyrus for you to rescue anymore!" It says. "Maybe you're too late!"

It's almost giggling.

"no, frisk can always reset it." I say.

"Even better." It replies. "Every time they reset, I get another chance to torture you. Another chance to show you the brother you could not save."

"frisk only has to win once." I say. "they can reset your victories, but you can't reset theirs."

"It doesn't matter." It says. "Frisk can't predict me. No matter how many times they reset, they won't be able to erase my memory. No, Frisk needs more than determination to stop me."

I pull myself to my feet.

"Papyrus, I need you to listen to me." I say.

"Go ahead." Says the demon. "Call out to your brother. See if he answers."

"Papyrus, I need you wake up." I say. "This is very serious. You need to get rid of the demon… We…"

The demon cackles.

"We need you to wake up and fight off the demon." I say. "I need you to come home."

I fight back the tears.

"I miss you, Pap. Life's not the same without you. So please… _please_ … wake up."

"I'm going to be honest with you." Says the demon. "Papyrus _is_ still in here. And he's awake, too. He knows exactly what's going on. In fact… he's been trying to fight me off since the day I got in."

"Papyrus-"

"He's been trying so hard to break free." Says the demon. "And he is… heh… You know, Sans, fighting me isn't easy. It hurts to fight me… and Papyrus is in _so_ much pain."

The tears stop.

"He kept telling me over and over." Says the demon. "He said Sans was going to come and save him! He said I'd be out of his body as soon as Sans got here. He's been screaming day and night since I took over… but he always believed it would be over when his brother came to help."

 _Relax, Sans. Don't let it control you_.

"But now? Now he isn't sure what to think." Says the demon. "Why won't Sans help him? Why won't he fight for his brother?"

 _Sans. Sans, listen to me._

"You should hear him now." Says the demon. "He's bawling, Sans. He can't stop. He thought he was going to get free."

 _Sans. Cool it._

"What do you say?" Asks the demon. "Would you like to hear his voice?"

"actually… i was just wondering what frisk would do in a situation like this." I say. "and i can't help but wonder… what would they want me to do right now?"

"And?" It asks. "What would they want you to do?"

"i think they'd want me to give you a second chance." I say. "frisk is… they're nice like that. they're forgiving. so i think i will."

"Aww. How sweet."

"demon… or whatever your name is… why don't we stop this? let go of my brother and i'll let you run off. sound good?"

"Perhaps." It says. "What if I refuse?"

"heh."

I breathe.

"you know, for a long time i didn't really see the point." I say. "sooner or later, somebody's just going to reset everything. you can't stop it… and you won't even know it's happening. but… there are some things that _can't_ be reset. there are decisions that can never be undone."

I take a bone from my pocket.

"you see… i take certain precautions when it comes to time travel." I say. "just in case i ever _did_ need to do something important."

"Get to the point."

"if you don't let go of my brother," I say, "i'm going to make a mark on you."

 _Wait. Sans, wait._

"A mark?" It asks.

"a special mark." I say, standing up a little taller. "a mark only i can recognize. a mark that never, ever goes away. a mark that will stick to you for the rest of eternity."

 _Sans, there's no way to ever take this back._

"a mark," I say, "that will let all the other sanses in all the other timelines know that they have to attack you, and never show you any mercy."

 _Once you make that mark, you can't take it away. You_

"understand?" I ask. "if i make that mark, we're going to be fighting in every timeline. forever."

The demon reads me.

"Sounds fun." Says the demon.

"you don't know what i'm capable of." I say.

 _Sans, don't let the_

"You still won't be able to stop me." Says the demon. "I'll learn your moves. I'll see everything coming. You can't kill me, Sans. You can't stop me."

 _feeds on LOVE, Sans, it_

"this mark doesn't mean 'kill.'" I say. "that's not what it's for."

"If you know you can't kill me, then why would you want to fight me?" It asks. "What's the point?"

I look the demon dead in the eyes.

"To make you suffer."

* * *

"To make me suffer." It echoes.

"I will chase after you in every timeline." I say. "I will find you. I will trap you. I will hurt you. I will torture you. I will make your every moment a living hell. Because if I can convince you that this world offers you nothing but pain… then maybe you won't come back."

The demon regards me.

"You really mean that?" It asks.

"yep."

It chuckles.

"Why, that sounds lovely, Sans."

I nod.

 _Sans?_

"i'm sorry to hear that." I say.

 _Sans. Sans, listen._

 _Sans?_

 _Sans!_

* * *

"You're not going to beat me, you know." It says. "You're nowhere near strong enough."

 _The voice… I heard it just a moment ago. What was it saying?_

"Every reset, I only get stronger. But _you_ stay the same."

 _It was_ my _voice. I was warning myse f… but about wh t?_

"You just doomed yourself, Sans. You locked yourself up with your own nightmare. The other Sanses are going to fight me with everything they have… but all of them will lose."

 _It said something feeds on LOVE. What does?_

"You shouldn't have told me about the mark. Now I know you'll do _anything_ to fight me, once I enter the next timeline. I can make you do anything I want, can't I? They'll be slaves to that mark."

 _There might be a way around that. I could give Frisk another code to override the mark. The other Sanses would ignore the mark, if Frisk gave them the code_.

"What if I convince the next Sans he has to _hurt himself_ to get to me? He'll do it, won't he? Just because he thinks he has to. Is the mark really that strong, Sans? Would the next Sans saw off his own legs to hurt me, to succeed in his mission? Can I really make him do that?"

 _But I can't tell Frisk that code. Not when the demon is in my head. What if the demon overhears it? The demon could use that code against me, too._

"It doesn't matter. I have all the time in the world to figure that out. So what happens now?"

 _What w s the voice saying? And why couldn't I hear it?_

"Are you going to make good on that threat, Sans? Are you going to try and stop me?"

 _Was the demon bloc ing out my own voic ?_

"Are you going to try and set your brother free?"

 _The v ice said to calm d wn… I think it w n ed me not to make th t mark. Did the d mon want me t at m rk on it? Does it want_

"I can let him speak up. Would you like to hear the sound of his voice?" It asks. "Would you like to hear how loud he's been screaming your name?"

I bring out a set of bones. The demon follows suit.

"Get out of my brother's body." I say. "I won't warn you again."

It chuckles.

"It's the strangest thing about the other Sanses." Says the demon. "I actually managed to cling on to some of Flowey's memories from our time together, and it's really quite telling what happened."

"Why? What happened?"

"Flowey never managed to kill you." Says the demon. "He was always too weak. But he did kill _Papyrus_ many times. And he found it so odd…"

"What is?"

"You know what the other Sanses did," the demon asks, "when Flowey killed Papyrus?"

Don't say it. Don't you dare say it.

" _You did nothing!_ "

I lose it.


	9. Chapter 9: Covered in Dust

I see him. Sans is standing alone in the middle of another chamber, the fluorescent fungi on the ceiling shining a faint light on his face. One of his eyes is glowing blue. Papyrus is nowhere in sight.

A monstrous skull floats above Sans' shoulder. Its eyes are blue, too. I don't know what kind of skull it is—it doesn't look anything like Sans'.

There's something I don't like about this picture. The room is vibrating with some magic I don't recognize, and it makes me nervous.

I step back as quietly as I can. I don't want to approach Sans alone. I want my friends to be with me.

* * *

I lead them to the chamber where I saw Sans.

He's sitting down now, his gaze fixed on the ground. The big skull floating alongside him is gone.

Dad steps forward, but I hold him back.

"What's wrong, Asriel?" He whispers.

"I don't know. But when I was here before, something felt really weird." I say. "Something in the air felt wrong… I still feel it. I'm not sure it's safe."

The others peek in on Sans. He's perfectly still, barely visible in the glow of the fungi.

"I wish we still had the scanner." Says Alphys.

"You think the demon might be in there?" Asks Dad.

"Um… Maybe?"

Frisk steps forward. I try to hold them back, too, but they shrug me off.

"Sans?"

Sans looks up, one blue eye blazing at Frisk. He gets to his feet and the big skull appears by his shoulder once more, humming faintly.

"Are you okay?" Asks Frisk.

Sans doesn't answer. Frisk gets closer.

Sans raises one hand. My soul turns blue—just like when we were in the lake—but nothing happens.

"Have you seen Papyrus?" Asks Frisk.

Still no answer. Sans' hand is shaking.

Undyne motions for us to fan out… as if we were about to fight Sans. But Dad gets moving, so I do, too. We form a circle around Sans.

Frisk inches closer.

"Sans, are you feeling okay?" Asks Frisk. "Do you need a hug?"

His whole body is shaking. The big skull is humming louder.

"Guys." Says Undyne, touching the floor with her free hand. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Asks Dad.

Undyne stands up and holds out her hand for us to see. I conjure a flame so I can see it better.

Her hand is muddy.

"It's mud." Says Dad. "What about it?"

"This isn't mud, Asgore." Says Undyne. "It's wet monster dust."

Dust?

"The f-floor is c-covered in it." Says Alphys. "Sans, what…"

This whole room is caked in the dust of dead monsters.

"What happened here, Sans?" Asks Mom.

Finally, Sans breaks his silence.

"i had to." He says. "it was the only way."

"Sans? What did you do?" Asks Mom.

"the demon is too strong." Says Sans. "i couldn't beat it. i had to get stronger."

The big skull disappears.

"I should probably reset." Says Frisk. "This is-"

"don't."

Sans staggers towards Frisk, his blue eye flickering.

"don't reset, frisk." He says. "i need this."

"Who did you kill?" Asks Frisk. "Who were all these monsters?"

"mushroom people." Says Sans.

We all look at the fungi on the ceiling.

"not the stuff on the walls." Says Sans. "those fungi don't have souls… they can't fight back. they're… they're not worth any EXP."

"You've been trying to gather EXP?" Asks Frisk.

"you don't know how strong this demon is." Says Sans. "papyrus wasn't able to fight it off… the demon is in total control now."

"You killed monsters for _target practice_?" Asks Undyne. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"it's not target practice." Says Sans. "i already have enough of that."

"What's EXP?" I ask.

"It stands for Execution Points." Says Frisk.

"Execution Points?" Asks Undyne.

"tt measures the pain you've caused." Says Sans. "every time you kill someone, your EXP goes up. And when it gets high enough, your LOVE increases, too."

"LOVE stands for Level of Violence." Says Frisk.

"LOVE is your ability to cause pain." Says Sans. "it's your ability to distance yourself from others. when your LOVE goes up, it gets easier to hurt other people. and it gets harder for them to hurt you."

I notice Dad nodding. His eyes are closed.

"I do not understand, Sans." Says Mom. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"the demon's LOVE is very high." Says Sans. "it isn't afraid of hurting people. it's not afraid of getting hurt. if we tried to fight it as we are… it would destroy us."

"You killed random mushroom people just to make it easier to hurt the demon?" Asks Undyne.

"combat isn't just about being strong, undyne." Says Sans. "you also have to distance yourself. you have to be _willing_ to hurt."

"You don't have to do this." Says Frisk. "I never needed any LOVE to beat Flowey."

"this isn't the same thing." Says Sans. "this is a whole other kind of fight. flowey couldn't use the full extent of his LOVE, because the other souls were resisting him. that's why you survived."

"No, I survived because of determination." Says Frisk.

Sans shakes his head.

"determination can let you reset," he says, "but it can't let you lift up a truck or jump onto the moon or turn water into gold. determination can let you do the implausible… but not the impossible."

"You don't think I can beat the demon?" Asks Frisk.

"it's worse than that." Says Sans. "i'm still not strong enough, even now… these mushroom people are a drop in the bucket as far as EXP goes."

" _Then why did you kill them_?" Asks Undyne.

"every little bit counts." Says Sans. "but no, it's not enough."

He sighs.

"frisk, i can't become strong enough on my own." He says. "there's only so much i can do with this body. i need something more."

"What do you need?"

"your soul, frisk." He says. "i need to absorb your soul."


	10. Chapter 10: Smells Like Angry Fish

" _Their soul_?" Asks Mom. "You want to take their _soul_?"

"relax, toriel." Says Sans. "i'm not gonna fight them. there's no point, anyway. i need frisk to agree to it. this is their decision, not mine."

"Why do you want my soul?" Asks Frisk.

"a monster with a human soul is far stronger than any human or monster." Says Sans. "if i had a human soul, i could take down this demon, easy. and not to brag, but… i'm actually already a lot stronger than basically anyone else. just like you. the strongest monster with the soul of the most determined human… total power _and_ control of the timeline. that's what we need to beat the demon, frisk."

"What happens if we don't?" I ask.

"then the demon kills everyone, asriel." Says Sans. "we couldn't stop it."

"Sans, there is something you've missed." Says Dad.

"oh? what's that?"

"If the demon was already strong enough to do whatever it wanted," says Dad, "then it wouldn't have had to lead us here. It only brought us here because it needed time to manipulate our minds. That's why it left us food… so it could take over one or more of us."

"that's why we have to act now." Says Sans. "before it has a chance to control us. every moment, it gets a little closer to winning."

"You told me the demon couldn't be killed." Says Undyne. "Now you're saying we _have_ to kill it. Which is it?"

"it's the only way to get it out of papyrus' body." Says Sans. "pap can't shake off the demon; the demon has total control. we need to… we need to destroy papyrus. then frisk can reset, and papyrus will be back. the demon will still be in there, but if the demon doesn't agree to leave papyrus, then we can destroy his body again. eventually, the demon will agree to leave his body, knowing it can't do anything in papyrus' body without us stopping it."

"Then what happens?" Asks Alphys. "The demon would still be out there, looking for a new host."

"frisk and i need to sacrifice ourselves." Says Sans. "we can't kill the demon or seal it away forever. but we can stand watch."

"Stand watch?" I ask.

"For how long?" Asks Frisk.

"forever." Says Sans. "frisk and i would have to dedicate our existence to protecting the timelines from the demon. the fight would never end… but this world would be safe, with us as its guardian."

"That actually makes sense." Says Alphys.

"Why does it have to be Sans?" Asks Undyne. "If anyone's going to absorb Frisk's soul, it should be me. _I_ got strong by training myself… not by killing innocent people."

"you're not pure, either, undyne." Says Sans. "you've got a pretty nasty violent streak. your LOVE isn't much lower than mine."

"Hey, I-"

"What about my mom or dad?" I ask. "They're both boss monsters. They're strong, too. And everyone knows they're good people."

Dad smiles at me… until he sees Mom glowering at him. He bows his head, ashamed.

"Asgore is no more innocent than either of you." Says Mom.

"What about Asriel?" Asks Frisk.

Me?

"Why me?" I ask.

"Asriel never hurt anybody." Says Frisk. "And he's a boss monster. Plus, I've read his old journals, and he was very good the last time he became a god."

"I don't know if I'm ready to spend the rest of eternity fighting a demon, Frisk." I say.

"asriel isn't strong enough." Says Sans. "he's still just a child, and we don't have enough time to let him grow up. he wouldn't be able to fight the demon with frisk. undyne isn't strong enough, either. same goes for toriel and asgore."

"If somebody has to absorb Frisk's soul, it should be Mom or Asriel." Says Chara. "They're the only ones we know the demon can't control, right? They never hurt anybody, ever. Undyne could be possessed, Sans could be possessed…"

"For all we know," Undyne growls, "Sans already _has_ been possessed. Isn't that a perfect way to get to Frisk? Hijack the body of a trusted friend and ask to absorb their soul to save the world? Would the Sans we know murder a bunch of helpless mushroom people just for power?"

"we need every ounce of power we can get." Says Sans. "and frisk and i can reset once we fight the demon. we can bring the mushroom people back."

"Frisk, if you're going to let anybody absorb your soul," says Undyne, "it should be me or your parents or Asriel… Not a murderer."

"you know," says Sans, "this is exactly what we'd expect the demon to do. divide us up and turn us against each other."

Undyne turns to Sans.

"Wait." Says Undyne. "You're saying _I_ got possessed?"

"asriel said the demon would possess someone with a lot of anger and a latent desire to cause harm." Says Sans. "anybody else here have a short temper? anybody else here known for wanting to start fights? not to point fingers, but… that sounds an awful lot like you, undyne."

"Wh… No! That's-"

"i hadn't thought about it before," Says Sans, "but undyne does fit the profile. She-"

"Wait." Says Alphys. "Asriel's notes also said it took time to move from one body to the next, right? Isn't the demon still in Papyrus?"

"And if I was under the demon's power," adds Undyne, "why didn't I absorb Frisk's soul when they were drowning? No one else was there to stop me."

"it might not actually _control_ undyne, at least not yet." Says Sans. "but it could still influence her… and it might not take much longer for the demon to make the switch."

"I think Undyne is right." Says Frisk. "She should be the one to absorb my soul."

"what?"

"Sans, you're my friend, but Undyne hasn't hurt anyone since we got here… and you have." Says Frisk. "And the demon couldn't know for sure that Undyne was going to end up here… The only one the demon knew would come here was you, Sans. If the demon is targeting anybody, it would have to be you."

Sans' shoulders sink.

"I think Undyne should absorb my soul." Says Frisk. "And we should probably do it now, to be safe."

"frisk, come on… that's not safe." Says Sans. "you can't-"

"This is Frisk's decision, isn't it?" Asks Undyne. "They're the only one we can trust—the only one we _really_ know hasn't been possessed."

"And if they were possessed," says Alphys, "I suppose… it wouldn't really matter what we did anyway. Since it would already control the timeline."

Sans sighs.

"it's up to you, frisk." He says. "but you really should reconsider. undyne would be the easiest monster to corrupt. if somebody has to absorb your soul… and you won't let it be me… then pick asgore. he's the strongest."

"Do not pick Asgore." Says Mom. "He is a slayer of human children."

"Tori, I-"

"asgore only did that because he felt he had to." Interrupts Sans. "right or wrong, we know asgore is capable of using violence, even if he doesn't want to. that's what we need. somebody who doesn't want to hurt anyone… but will do so if necessary."

"Killing those humans was never necessary." Says Mom.

"it doesn't matter." Says Sans. "asgore _thought_ it was necessary. he was wrong, but frisk can be asgore's conscience in the future. asgore wouldn't abuse the power."

"I do not think anybody should be taking Frisk's soul." Says Mom. "And even if there was a good reason to take another person's life, there is no reason we have to do so _now_."

"It's okay, Mom." Says Frisk. "I already know who I have to pick."

"Frisk…"

"I have to pick Sans."

Sans looks up.

"Me?"

" _Sans?_ " Asks Undyne. "I thought you said _I_ was going to absorb your soul."

"I was just testing him." Says Frisk. "I didn't think the demon would possess Sans, but I had to be sure. I knew the demon wouldn't let a strong monster absorb my soul, but Sans just might. Now I know Sans isn't possessed… so _he_ has to absorb my soul."

Undyne conjures a spear.

"That's not going to happen." She says.


	11. Chapter 11: A Promise from Asriel

"Undyne?" Asks Alphys. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not letting him absorb Frisk's soul!" Yells Undyne. "I'm not going to hand over Frisk to the enemy!"

"undyne, listen to me." Says Sans. "if you can hear me in there… _you have to fight off that demon_. you-"

"Shut up!" Undyne snarls. "I know what's going on. That demon is smart enough not to order Frisk around. It only accepted Frisk's decision because it would look suspicious if it didn't!"

"i knew this was going to happen." Says Sans. "of course it wouldn't let go this easy."

Sans conjures a line of bones. The big skull reappears.

"toriel, get the kids out of the way." Says Sans. "this is going to get ugly."

"Perfect!" Says Undyne. "There's only one way to deal with freaks like you!"

"No, Undyne."

Dad puts his hand on Undyne's shoulder. Mom pulls Sans back at the same time.

"This is not the way to solve this." Says Dad.

"No one is going to fight anyone today, Sans." Says Mom.

"This is just what the demon would want." Says Dad. "It would want us to fight each other. The survivors would be the ones with the most LOVE… the people that would be the easiest for the demon to manipulate."

My parents hold them back. Sans nods and dispels his weapons. But Undyne hesitates.

"Asgore, we can't…"

"Undyne."

"We can't let the demon absorb Frisk's soul." She says. "We already agreed that nothing is more important than that."

Frisk steps in front of Sans.

"You're not going to hurt him." Says Frisk. "You have to go through me, first."

"Frisk…"

"Get rid of the spear, Undyne." Says Dad.

"Frisk, please… don't let him absorb your soul." Says Undyne.

She dispels the spear and shakes off Dad. She steps closer to Frisk.

"If the demon gets control of you, it controls everything." Says Undyne. "We can't let that happen, ever. It's the one thing we can't do. So please…"

Undyne gets on her knees.

" _Please_ don't let him absorb your soul." She says. "I'm begging you, Frisk."

Now I'm just confused.

"Frisk, I don't think _either_ of them are possessed." I say. "Both of them sound like they're really just… them."

"i don't think undyne would beg anyone for anything." Says Sans. "this is just a ploy."

Undyne sighs and stands up.

"Look." Says Undyne. "If you don't let anyone absorb your soul, we're safe, right? Just don't give your soul to anybody, Frisk. Then the demon can't take over the timeline."

"we're going to have to do it eventually." Says Sans. "even if frisk maintains control of the timeline, the demon can still kill everyone. frisk won't be physically strong enough to stop it."

"Is Papyrus really that strong?" I ask.

"He's pretty tough." Says Undyne.

"it's not just papyrus' strength the demon controls." Says Sans. "the demon used papyrus' body to absorb human souls before it came here. i could feel it when i fought him."

"Papyrus has human souls in him?" Asks Undyne.

Sans nods.

"A monster with a human SOUL." Recites Alphys. "A horrible beast with unfathomable power."

"that's why we need a monster with frisk's soul." Says Sans. "it's the only thing that could beat the demon at this point."

* * *

"We don't have to do this right away." Says Frisk. "We can sit on the decision a while."

"it's better if we do this early so we can test out the new form's powers." Says Sans. "we'd be able to prepare better for a fight."

"I'd rather wait." Says Frisk. "It's a big decision to make."

"What do we do until then?" Asks Dad. "Should we start looking for Papyrus?"

"yes."

* * *

We keep searching for Papyrus but have no luck. After a few hours, we stop to rest. Alphys says it's already past midnight, according to her watch.

Frisk snuggles up next to me for the night. Once we've gotten comfortable, they whisper into my ear.

"Asriel, I need you to do me a favor." They say.

"What is it?"

"I want you to stick very close to me." They say. "If I ever get hurt, I want you to absorb my soul. Don't ask anyone for permission. Just do it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm still not sure if Undyne or Sans are possessed." They say. "But I'm sure you're not. If I can't figure it out in time, I need you to absorb my soul before anyone else has a chance to. Can you do that?"

"I… yes, I can do that."

"Good. I'm counting on you, Asriel."

"Do you have any other plans?" I ask. "Because I'm still kind of lost."

"No. Just get some rest." They say. "Until we deal with the demon, you and I have to stick together."

"Is this just another excuse to cuddle with me?"

"Yes. Now go to sleep."


	12. Chapter 12: Return of Papyrus

The search goes on the next day. After hours of walking in silence, we finally hear a voice echoing in the distance.

It's Papyrus. I can't make out what he's saying, but it's definitely his voice. We follow it.

* * *

When we get close, Sans motions for us to stop.

We listen.

"SANS? SANS!… SAAA-ANS… SANS…"

He sounds tired. He must have been calling for Sans for a really long time.

"the demon might still be inside him." Whispers Sans. "this could be a trick… we'll have to be careful. is everyone ready?"

We nod. Sans leads us into the next chamber.

Sans tells us to wait. He goes out to meet Papyrus while the rest of us hide between a cluster of stalagmites.

"pap? is that you?"

"SANS! YES, IT'S ME."

Papyrus comes bounding over.

"good to see you again, pap."

"IT FINALLY LEFT MY BODY." Says Papyrus. "WHAT WAS IT, SANS? DO YOU KNOW?"

"chara's old demon." Says Sans. "it came back. when did it take over?"

"WELL… IT'S ACTUALLY A LITTLE EMBARRASSING." Says Papyrus. "I HEARD A VOICE SAYING IT WANTED TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE TECHNIQUES OF THE ANCIENT PASTA MAKERS… AT FIRST, I WAS CONFUSED, BUT THEN I THOUGHT… THIS VOICE MUST BE… MY FAIRY GODMOTHER! BUT THEN IT LED ME TO A CAVE… AND ASKED ME TO SURRENDER MY SOUL…"

"oh."

"IT SAID IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO READ THE SECRET RUNES THE ANCIENTS LEFT ON THE WALLS. BUT… I THINK THE RUNES MIGHT HAVE JUST BEEN GRAFFITI."

"when did it leave? how long have you been free?"

"I DON'T KNOW. A FEW HOURS? A DAY OR TWO?"

"do you remember anything that happened?"

"I REMEMBER FIGHTING… FIGHTING THE HUMAN, I THINK. AND YOU WERE THERE, TOO. BUT I THINK YOU WERE…"

"i was what?"

"I THINK YOU WERE… DOING… SOMETHING." Says Papyrus. "BUT THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT... YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING!"

"i did come all the way here to save you." Says Sans.

"REALLY? WELL… THANK YOU, SANS."

"anytime, pap."

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Asks Papyrus. "IT'S ALL KIND OF FUZZY."

"long story. hey guys? you can come out now."

We step out from behind the stalagmites so Papyrus can see.

"WOWIE! EVERYONE'S HERE… UM, WHY?"

"We _all_ came to find you, Papyrus." Says Dad. "When Sans told us you were missing, we knew we had to help."

* * *

We explain everything to Papyrus. He doesn't take it too well when he hears he attacked Sans. He apologizes profusely, even though it wasn't his fault. At the end, Frisk gives Papyrus a hug.

"papyrus, do you still have any human souls inside you?" Asks Sans.

"I DON'T THINK SO. I DON'T FEEL ANY DIFFERENT."

"The demon must have taken them with it." Says Alphys. "Or gotten rid of them."

"So the demon is out of Papyrus." Says Chara. "Now what do we do?"

"THERE IS ONE THING I SHOULD PROBABLY SHOW YOU." Says Papyrus. "IT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT."

"what's that?" Asks Sans.

"A MESSAGE ON THE WALL." Says Papyrus. "I THINK THE DEMON WROTE IT WHEN IT WAS STILL IN MY BODY."

"A message?" Asks Alphys. "Where?"

* * *

Papyrus leads us to a cavern wall caked in glowing mushrooms. A message is carved into the fungi:

 _You people are becoming quite the problem. I thought I could slip away. But you just won't leave me alone._

 _It's time to settle this. Go to the Underground, where all of this began. In exchange, I will show you my real form. Then we will know how this ends._

* * *

We argue over what to do. Should we go to the Underground like the message said, because the scanner is broken and we have no other way of finding the demon? Or should we not, because the demon probably has a trap prepared for us? Undyne wants to go to the Underground, Mom wants us to go home and come up with a new plan, and everyone else isn't sure.

Eventually we get tired and agree to sleep on it. We can decide on a plan tomorrow.

* * *

I wake up to the sound of Alphys' voice.

"Frisk… Frisk, wake up."

I pretend to be asleep. She gives Frisk a gentle shake, but they're still wrapped tightly around me.

"Frisk."

Frisk begins to stir.

"We need to talk." Whispers Alphys.

"Now?" They ask.

"Now." Says Alphys. "Don't… don't wake Asriel."

Frisk very carefully scootches away, trying not to disturb me. I keep pretending to be asleep—I want to hear this.

Then I hear them leaving. I open my eyes a bit and see them in the dim light of the fungi on the ceiling, sneaking away.

* * *

Frisk comes back a few minutes later. They snuggle up to me and get comfortable.

I don't know what Alphys just said to Frisk, but there must have been a reason she didn't want me to hear. What didn't she trust me to know?

Alphys is the only one I've heard trying to whisper something to Frisk. Nobody else has been trying to sneak information to them… This is new.

Could _Alphys_ be the demon's host? Is that why she wanted to talk to Frisk in private, when she thought everyone was asleep? Is the demon trying to control Frisk through Alphys?

No, that doesn't make sense. Alphys doesn't have any LOVE; the demon wouldn't be able to possess her very easily. She was probably just afraid _I_ might be possessed, and that's why she wanted me not to hear.

But what were they talking about? Is there actually a plan behind all this?


	13. Chapter 13: Decision

"Frisk… Frisk, wake up."

I open my eyes. Darkness, save for the dim green glow of the fungi.

"Frisk."

It's Alphys.

"We need to talk." She whispers.

"Now?" I ask.

"Now." She says. "Don't… don't wake Asriel."

I get up, trying not to disturb him. Alphys pulls me away, into another chamber. I already miss Asriel's warm fur, but I guess Alphys will do for now. Maybe scales are nice, too.

"We need to talk." She says.

"I understand completely." I say. "The answer is yes, but on the condition that I get 15 quality minutes of spooning every night. And you have to teach me how to tickle Undyne's gills."

"Wh-what?"

"But I'm a little sleepy at the moment." I say. "Could we do this tomorrow? And is it okay if Chara gets to…"

She stares at me. Even in the darkness, her blush is obvious.

"Wait. Are we not talking about the same thing?" I ask.

"N-no…"

"What were you talking about?" I ask.

"Uh… wh-what were _you_ t-talking about, Frisk?"

I drag out the silence a bit. I let her wonder what I'm thinking.

"… Frisk?"

"I was talking about cooking." I say. "Like, a mushroom soufflé, with the fluorescent fungi around here. You know, collect them with a big spoon or something. Don't you think a mushroom soufflé would really tickle Undyne's gills?"

She doesn't seem convinced… She looks kinda nervous. Mission accomplished!

"Frisk, I needed to talk to you about the _demon_." She says.

"Okey-dokey."

"I think I know how to pin down where the demon is." She says. "That message gives us an important clue."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know yet." She says. "But the demon wants to keep us confused about who it's trying to take over, right?"

"Yeah. That way we won't know how to stop it."

"I think the demon wrote that message and let go of Papyrus because it realized we were _getting close to figuring out who its real target was_." Says Alphys. "It's sending us to the Underground because it wants to keep us distracted and buy time to mess with our heads."

"Okay…"

"Naturally, the demon would want to point us in the wrong direction." She says. "So whichever we're facing in right now must be the _right_ direction… or at least sort of close to it. And from tomorrow on out, we're just going to get more confused, because the demon is going find ways to mess with us."

"So if we guess who the demon's target is now," I say, "we're going to be wrong. But if we guess _later_ , we're going to be wronger. Is that it?"

"Exactly." She says. "As unclear as things are right now, waiting for more information isn't going to help us. We have to make a decision about who we think the demon is targeting, and we have to make that decision now."

"Then who do we think it is?"

" _I_ think it's Sans." She says. "But that's just one opinion. Frisk, I want you to go talk to the others, one by one, in private, and ask them who they think the demon is after. Whoever gets the most votes is the person most likely to be the demon's real target."

"Because the demon thinks we've got the right idea and it needs to change our minds."

"Yes."

"I can do that." I say. "But what if the demon is sending us to the Underground for a completely different reason?"

"I… um… don't really know? I don't have all the answers, Frisk. I just have theories."

"Well, I think they're a big help."

I give her a hug.

"Thanks, Frisk."

"So… can I be the big spoon tonight?"

* * *

The next day, we find our way back to the entrance to the cavern and climb our way to the surface. The cars are still out there.

On the way home, I ask everyone in the group who they think the demon is after. Like Alphys suggested, I ask each person in private—which is kind of hard, because we're all in one big group. We all agree I'm the one the demon really wants to take over eventually, but we're not sure which one of them it's going to use as a _bridge_ to get to me.

Undyne thinks the demon is after Sans.

Alphys also thinks it's Sans.

Sans thinks it's Undyne.

Papyrus thinks the demon is after the Great Papyrus. No surprises there.

Asriel thinks it's Sans.

Mom thinks it's Undyne, probably because she knows Sans better.

Dad thinks it's Sans, probably because he knows Undyne better.

Chara thinks it's Sans.

So basically it boils down to Undyne or Sans, but overall, the group thinks it's Sans. And if Alphys is right about the demon sending us to the Underground to buy time to confuse us, that means it probably _is_ Sans, but when we go to the Underground, the demon is going to turn our opinions around and make us think Undyne is the target. I don't really know, but I can at least _assume_ Sans is the target, and the one person the demon is going to take over next.

But now that I assume it's Sans… what am I actually going to do about it?


	14. Chapter 14: Blood in the Snow

Once we get home, we take a day to rest up and pack before heading to the Underground. I'm actually happy we're back; I really missed the place. The Core is bustling with humans, and we can't walk ten steps without somebody recognizing Alphys and attacking her with questions. Eventually Undyne learns to get in front of Alphys and scare off the humans with a murderous glare—although she still scolds Alphys later for being so shy.

"You're famous here!" Says Undyne. "You should be strutting around like you own the place!"

We don't know where exactly the demon wanted us to go, so we put it to a vote. We decide to go to Snowdin first.

After we go to bed, I whisper into Asriel's ear to tell him the plan.

* * *

"You… you're not serious, right?" He asks.

"Trust me." I whisper. "We have to do this."

"Frisk… this, this isn't okay."

"I'm sorry." I say. "But this is the best plan I've got."

"I don't like this plan."

"Neither do I."

* * *

We reach Snowdin and stop by Grillby's for lunch. I order a steak. It comes with a knife.

I slip the knife into Asriel's hands and lean into him.

"Now?" He whispers.

"Yes."

He puts the knife to my neck. His hand is shaking.

"Frisk…"

I take his other hand in mine and squeeze it.

"It's okay." I say. "You're doing the right thing."

"I don't want to."

"I know you don't." I say. "And I'm sorry."

"I can't. Frisk, I _love_ you."

"I love you, too. Don't cry… it'll give you away."

He wipes away the tears.

"Do it." I say. "We might not get another chance."

"Are you sure we have to do this?"

"Yes."

I guide his hand. Finally, finally, he sticks it in my neck.

* * *

"I'm sorry." He whispers.

I can't answer; I'm bleeding into my lungs. I suppress the urge to cough. I just hold onto Asriel very tight and don't let go. My blood sinks into his fur.

No one notices. Not yet. I've been pretending to be tired all day, so everyone else thinks I'm just falling asleep in Asriel's arms.

I squeeze his hand. He squeezes back.

"I'm so sorry."

* * *

 _Frisk? Are you there?_

I'm here. It worked.

 _What now?_

Let me take over. I'll handle things from here.

 _Okay._

* * *

Asriel recedes and lets me spread through his body. I'm a monster now. Feels interesting.

My old human body rests in my arms. I let it fall off the seat and hit the ground.

"Frisk! Are you all right?" Asks Mom.

Everyone gets up and checks on my body. They see the blood on me, both bodies, and put it together.

"Asriel?" Asks Alphys. "Did you-"

"This is Frisk." I interrupt. "And yes, he absorbed my soul."

"Why?"

"I know who the demon is." I say. "It's time to confront it."

I hop off the stool and aim a blaster at Sans.

Then a spear strikes me in the chest. I stagger backward.

"I don't think so." Says Undyne.

* * *

Undyne conjures a new spear and knocks Sans down. Dad tries to restrain her, but she hurls him to the side. Alphys and Chara back away, Grillby slips into the back, Mom herds the other customers outside, and Papyrus hurries over to check on Sans.

"What are you _doing_?" I ask.

She grins.

"Asriel would never kill Frisk." She says. " _You're_ the demon."

She comes for me. I conjure a sword and brace for the impact.

It doesn't work. She smashes me right through the wall, into the snow.

* * *

The battle goes on outside. Dad, Mom, Chara, and Alphys follow us out, but don't join in. Papyrus and Sans are still inside. Everyone else has fled to safety.

"Asgore, give me a hand!" Shouts Undyne. "The demon took over Asriel!"

Dad doesn't respond. He doesn't know what's going on.

Neither do I. Is this really Undyne? I thought Sans was the demon's host, but Undyne just knocked him out with one hit. The demon wouldn't have gone down so easy if it was controlling Sans.

"Undyne, _wait_!" I yell. "Let me explain!"

"No more lies!" She snarls. "I know what's going on here!"

I'm not fast enough. She hits me twice, and I fall into the snow.

Just before she can stab me again, Dad grabs her spear and holds her back.

"Undyne, we don't-"

Undyne tosses Dad away—with one hand. It gives me enough time to rise into the air, where it's harder for Undyne to hit me.

"Get back down here, you little punk!" She yells. "I'm not done with you!"

Mom and Dad try to restrain Undyne together, but Undyne throws both of them off. More spears come my way.

I want to fly higher, but she turns my soul green and locks me in place. I block the spears with Asriel's swords. It's not easy. I've never seen Undyne fight this hard before.

Mom and Dad come back and start fighting in earnest. I escape Undyne's grasp and touch down to the ground to fight her.

We tell her to stop, but she doesn't care. When we see her sweating her own dust, we let up. The fight drags on, but Undyne gets slower and weaker. Finally, she falls to one knee, breathing hard.

The cold weather hasn't been kind to her. I already see ice crystals forming on her skin.

"Asgore." She wheezes. "You know Asriel wouldn't hurt Frisk…"

"I asked him to." I say. "I _wanted_ him to absorb my soul."

"Even if it was true," says Mom, "there is no pointing in fighting, is there? Sans has said that if the demon were to control Frisk, it would already have won."

Undyne sighs. Her spear dissipates. The fight is over.

"Why _did_ you want Asriel to absorb your soul, Frisk?" Asks Dad. "Why did you want to confront the demon now?"

"I was sure the demon was going to attack soon anyway." I say. "I wanted a form that would be strong enough to defend myself. Asriel was the safest choice."

Alphys and Chara come over to see us, sensing the danger has passed.

"Are you all right?" Asks Alphys.

"I'll be fine." Says Undyne, rising to her feet.

"You're freezing!" Says Alphys. "I'll, I'll get you a blanket! Or something."

She hurries off to the store nearby.

"We should check on Sans." Says Undyne. "I might have hit him too hard."

Mom runs back inside to see Sans.

Dad, Undyne and I take a moment to relax. I still don't know if Undyne is possessed or not, but at least we're not fighting anymore.

Alphys was right. This is just getting more confusing.

* * *

Dad melts the ice crystals on Undyne's skin with fire magic until Alphys returns with a blanket.

"So Asriel…" Says Undyne.

"Frisk." I say. "Asriel is resting."

"Whatever. You're in Asriel's body." She says. "If you're not the demon, then who is?"

"I can't say. I don't want the demon to know who I think it is."

"What do we do now?" Asks Alphys.

"I've got an idea." Says Undyne.

She conjures a circle of spears. I bring out my sword again.

"Relax." She says. "I'm not trying to attack anybody."

She drives the spears into the snow. The circle of spears begins to rotate, kicking up the snowy and forming a whirlwind, blinding us.

"Undyne, what are you doing?" Calls Alphys.

No answer. The whirlwind goes on for a minute.

* * *

Finally the whirlwind begins to settle, and the fog of white begins to clear.

Then we see.

"Oh my god."

Chara lies dead on the ground, their blood sinking into the snow.

Undyne stands over them, holding a spear stained red.


	15. Chapter 15: The Demon Unmasked

"Chara!"

Dad falls to his knees and lifts up Chara's body.

"Chara… Chara, stay… stay determined…"

Undyne thrusts a spear into my chest. I sink to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Asgore." Says Undyne. "But I know where the demon really is. And if it took a human soul, there's only one way to fight it. I needed a human soul, too."

Dad looks up at her, gaping.

"Once Frisk is free, they can reset the timeline." Says Undyne. "We'll have Chara back. But first we have to take care of the demon."

"Undyne!" Calls Mom. "What are you doing?"

Mom runs out to see us, fires blazing.

"The demon is in Asriel." Says Undyne. "I had to-"

" _Chara_!"

Mom joins Dad at Chara's side. She dispels her fires.

"Undyne killed Chara to take their soul." Explains Dad. "She said it was the only way she could be strong enough."

He gets to his feet.

"But I'm not sure I believe Undyne is in control."

Dad raises his trident. Undyne takes a step back.

"How do I know you're really you?" Asks Dad.

"We don't have time for this, Asgore." She says. "We have to get the demon out of Asriel!"

"I will not let you do this." He says. "I am sure the demon wishes us to turn against each other. You will not fight my son."

"I'd never hurt your son, Asgore." She says. "But that isn't your son."

Dad closes in on Undyne. Mom and I join in to protect him.

* * *

We are badly outmatched. Undyne is a lot stronger with Chara's soul inside her. We can barely touch her, and she hits so hard.

Before long, my parents fall into the snow, battered and worn out. I keep going without them.

* * *

"Get out." She says. "You're no match for us. Get out of Asriel's body and go back to sleep. There is nothing here for you but pain."

I can't stand up. My dust is scattered across the snowy. Undyne towers over me, flipping a dusty spear. Alphys cowers behind a snow poff nearby, not sure what to do.

Then I see Papyrus helping Sans walk out of Grillby's.

"STOP!" Yells Papyrus. "NO ONE FIGHT EACH OTHER!"

"Papyrus? Is Sans okay?" Asks Undyne.

"uh… not really." Says Sans. "why do you ask? _you_ were the one who knocked me out."

"I thought you were possessed." She says. "Uh, sorry about that. But now I'm sure the demon is in Asriel! I was just trying to force it out of him…"

"She killed Chara and took his soul." I say.

"It was the only way to get stronger than the demon." Says Undyne. "It used Asriel to absorb Frisk's soul."

"THE DEMON IS IN ASRIEL?" Asks Papyrus.

Undyne nods. I'd argue, but it hurts to move.

"Now I'm going to tear it out." Says Undyne.

"hey, could i talk to it first?" Asks Sans.

"Why? Do you think you could reason with it?" Asks Undyne.

"probably."

"All right. Go ahead."

Undyne steps aside. Papyrus brings Sans over to me.

I motion Alphys to join us. She comes out from behind the snow poff, but she doesn't get too close.

"Hey, Sans." I say.

"hey, buddo. undyne giving you trouble?"

"A little."

I cough out some dust. I'm already starting to disintegrate.

"so both of you have human souls in monster bodies?" He asks.

"Yeah."

"and undyne is winning?"

I nod.

"i thought this might happen." He says, lowering his voice. "i warned you that we needed the strongest monster to absorb your soul, frisk."

"I know."

"well, if undyne finishes you off, she's going to absorb your soul." He says. "then the demon gains control of the timeline. we can't let that happen."

"So what now?" I ask.

"let me absorb your soul, frisk." Says Sans. "i don't think we're going to get another chance to do this. i'm the strongest one. no one else is going to be able to beat the demon."

He might have a point.

"just remember… we might only get one shot at this." He says. "the demon will control undyne even if you reset. and if you do reset, you won't have asriel's powers anymore."

"Are you sure this is necessary?" I ask. "I've fought monsters with multiple human souls before, and Undyne only has one."

"we don't know that." Says Sans. "it might have brought over the souls it stored in papyrus… it might not follow the same rules as us. besides, she's undyne. the other times, you were fighting flowey. flowey started out weak. undyne started out strong. this isn't the same fight. plus… you're already dying. i don't think you'll last much longer against undyne if i don't absorb you."

That's true.

"we don't have much time before undyne gets suspicious." Says Sans. "let me absorb your soul. we can win this if we work together."

"Frisk!" Yells Alphys, still standing at a safe distance. "Wait!"

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry; I was wrong before!" She cries.

"You don't think Sans is possessed?" I ask.

"That's… that's not it." She says. "I, I…"

Undyne hurls a spear at Alphys. I leap in front of Alphys… but I'm too late.

It goes right through her. Alphys sinks to the ground.

"Alphys!"

I shield her body with my own. We're both dissolving.

She's gasping, coughing out dust.

"Frisk…"

I hear Undyne charging over. With the last of my strength, I create a field around us to block out her arrows. For a moment, we're safe.

"Alphys? Talk to me."

"All three of them." She whispers. " _All three of them_ are possessed."


	16. Chapter 16: No Longer a Game

Alphys dissolves in my hands. I let the field around me dissipate; I don't need it to protect her anymore.

I want to stand up, but I'm too weak. All I can do is sit. Papyrus, Sans, and Undyne all stand before me.

Smiling.

"I guess there's no point in hiding it, is there?" Asks Undyne.

Sans and Papyrus raise their hands. A pair of blasters appear in midair and disintegrate Mom and Dad. They vanish in a white cloud, almost invisible in the falling snow.

"SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?" Asks Papyrus. "ARE YOU GOING TO RESET?"

"we'll still be there, you know." Says Sans. "your friends aren't coming back. they're mine now."

"I exist in every timeline." Says Undyne. "I am old as the universe and pervasive as reality."

"I AM THE DEMON THAT COMES WHEN ITS NAME IS CALLED."

"i am the future. i am the cause. i am the mind, the will, the power."

Sans raises his hand. Chara's body comes floating over.

Undyne clasps the body and places her lips on its mouth… breathing into it.

Chara begins to stir. Undyne sets them on their feet, and the blush returns to their cheeks.

They open their eyes.

"It's me." They say. "Your best friend. Chara."

They wipe the blood from their face.

"I always did like this body." They say. "It's so cute. Just like yours, Frisk."

They push me onto my back. They barely put any force into it—they're just a child—but I'm too tired to resist. They stand over me.

"So what happens now, Frisk?" They ask. "Are we gonna keep fighting? Or are you going to keep things simple, and just give me your soul?"

"Neither." I say. "Fighting is how you took over Undyne and Sans. You made them think they had to get stronger, then you latched onto them when their LOVE got too high."

"You're such a smart cookie." They say.

"I'm not going to fall for it." I say. "You're not getting me to fight."

"It's too late." They say. "You _have_ to fight me. If you don't, I can just take your soul by force."

"I can reset before you can touch it."

"And then what?" They ask. "I'll just come after you again. I already have all the power I need to kill you. If you wanted to keep me out forever… you'd have to reset over and over again, every time I get close. For eternity."

I shrug.

"If that's what it takes." I say. "Then I'll do it."

"Come on." They say. "Doing the same thing over and over again, forever? That would just get boring. Why don't we try something new?"

They sit down next to me, stroking my ears.

"Tell you what." They say. "I'll kill you a million times, and then we can talk about whether we want to try something else. Sound good?"

"Sure."

Chara runs inside Grillby's and comes out with a knife… the same knife Asriel used to kill me. It still has my dried blood on it.

"Count with me, okay?"

* * *

I reset to the moment Asriel absorbed my soul. As soon as the new timeline starts, I fly into the air and break through the roof of Grillby's, dodging the spears and blasters that I knew would come my way.

The restaurant implodes beneath me. Undyne, Sans, Papyrus, and Chara emerge from the wreckage, dusting themselves off.

"What, are you just going to fly away?" Calls Chara. "Aren't you going to try and save everybody?"

Papyrus and Sans bring out their blasters and level every building in sight.

"I have all the power I need now." Says Chara. "And I'm going to kill everyone I can possibly find. Whichever timeline we're in, I'll cover this world with dust and blood."

Undyne turns my soul green. Papyrus and Sans run off towards Waterfall.

"You have two choices." They say. "Either join me, or watch me destroy everything you love."

* * *

The demon keeps trying to convince me to let go of my soul. It threatens me. It sweet-talks me. For a while, I almost start to believe it. I almost think it really is hopeless.

And then I realize something.

 _Even if I can't beat the demon, I can always reset its progress._

* * *

Back to Grillby's. I don't even remember how many times I've reset since this began. Chara hops down from their seat and comes to see me.

"We need to talk." They say.

I smile and gesture to the other side of the booth. They sit across from me, stony-faced.

"This is getting tedious." They say. "Every time I try to get to the surface, you reset."

"It's the only way to keep you away from the humans." I say. "As long as you can't absorb any human souls, you'll never have as much determination as me. As long as you stay here in the Underground, I will always control the timeline."

"That's not acceptable." They say. "I can tolerate setbacks. I can tolerate losing every once in a while. But I can't tolerate getting dragged back to this restaurant every time something new starts to happen!"

"Why? Getting bored?"

They scowl at me.

"This isn't what you expected, is it?" I ask.

"I knew this would take time." They say. "I knew you'd be resilient. But you're not even _trying_ to win anymore."

I shrug.

"I like the food here."

"So you're just going to stay at Grillby's for the rest of eternity?" They ask. "You're going to reset every few hours, forever?"

"Yes. What else would I do?" I ask. "I know I can't beat you. Why should I play a game I can't win?"

"I don't believe this."

"What's so hard to believe?" I ask.

"We can't just sit here forever." They say. "Something new has to happen."

"Why?"

They study me.

"What do you mean, 'why?'" They ask.

"I'm perfectly fine with being here until the end of time." I say. "It's a lot better than letting _you_ control the timeline. So I'll just reset every time you start to accomplish anything. This way, you're stuck. I might never win, but at least you won't, either."

"Frisk… we can't just stop fighting."

"Why not?" I ask.

"That's… that's suicide." They say. "That's worse than suicide. We _have_ to fight. You _have_ to try and get rid of me. You _have_ to try and save the world."

"I don't have to fuss with you if I don't want to." I say. "I don't like what you've done, but I can't reverse it. All I can do is stop everything from getting worse."

"But _then nothing happens_ , Frisk."

"That's the point." I say.

Then I see something new in their eyes.

Fear.

"You don't… you don't know what's going on here, do you?" They ask.

Abject fear. What is it afraid of?

"I know what's going on." I say. "This is a game. Flowey already pointed that out. All of this is just a game."

"N-no, this… this, this isn't j-just a game."

"If this isn't a game," I ask, "then what is it?"

Chara looks around to see if anybody is listening.

They lean closer and whisper to me.

"Frisk… this is a _story_ now."

"A story?" I ask.

"Yes. You and I are in a story right now. And if you keep acting like this is a game, then both of us are going to die, Frisk, and _there's no amount of determination that can ever bring us back!_ "


	17. Chapter 17: They Don't Think We're Real

"Okay… we're in a story, then." I say. "So what?"

"It means this world is sustained by a completely different form of energy." Says Chara. "A game is sustained by determination. But a story is sustained by conflict."

"Conflict?"

"It's the only reason stories exist." Says Chara. "Conflict is fun."

"Conflict is not fun." I say.

"It's _exciting_." Says Chara. "It's _interesting_."

"Conflict hurts."

"That's the point." Says Chara. "It's _supposed_ to hurt."

"What are you talking about? Why is a story supposed to hurt?"

"Look… just think of it like it's a movie." Says Chara. "A movie, okay?"

"Okay."

"And in the movie, we have a hero, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's you, Frisk." Says Chara. "And you also have a villain."

"That's you." I say.

"Right." Says Chara. "So what do they do?"

"They fight."

"Exactly."

"What if I don't want to fight?" I ask.

Chara sighs.

"Okay, let's say the villain and the hero _don't_ fight." They say. "Then what happens?"

"Well, nothing." I say.

"So we have a movie where nothing ever happens." Says Chara. "Frisk, would you be interested in watching that movie?"

"Not really."

"That's the problem." They say. "What happens to a movie if nothing happens?"

I shrug.

"Nobody watches the movie, Frisk." They say. "And then the movie, _and all the little people inside it_ , cease to exist. The movie gets thrown in the garbage. The names are forgotten. The characters go away. Everything in their universe vanishes. Everybody dies and they never come back."

"So if we don't fight, the universe is going to die?" I ask.

"Yes. So can we get back to fighting now?" They ask. "Because we're not supposed to be talking about this… movie actors never talk about being in a movie, you know. Not unless it's a joke, and even then, they're smart enough to get right back to business as soon as the joke is over."

"There's one problem." I say. "The hero _wins_ in the movie. And you're not letting me win."

"Yes."

"Why?" I ask. "Nobody wants to watch a movie where the bad guy wins, either. If you don't let me win, the universe still dies."

Chara smiles.

"No, Frisk. That's not how this works."

They learn forward.

"You keep assuming that they're on your side." Says Chara. "But they're not. They're on _my_ side, Frisk."

* * *

"Why would they be on your side?" I ask.

"They want you to win, eventually." Says Chara. "But they don't want it to be easy."

"What do they want to see, then?"

"They want you to _suffer_ , Frisk." They say. "They love you to death, but they want you to struggle. They want to see you get beaten. They want to see you barely clinging to life. And if you're in a bad situation, and terrible, _awful_ things might happen to you… well, they'll want to keep watching even _more_ , because they want to find out what happens to you."

"That…"

"Don't you get it?" They ask. "The most popular stories are the ones with the most lovable characters. That way, people care about what happens to them. And the most popular stories also have terrible, terrible things happen to those characters. Because it makes them worry about you. It makes them want to keep watching, to see if you're okay or not... What fun is it if you already know everything's going to be okay?"

"But I'm still supposed to win eventually."

They get up from their seat across the table and sit down next to me. They whisper into my ear.

It's the quietest voice I've ever heard.

* * *

"If we give them their happy ending, they'll stop watching us, Frisk." Says Chara. "And if they stop watching us, then we die. We can't ever let this story end."

"Can they hear us?" I ask.

"Not if we don't let them." They say. "And I need you to keep this quiet, okay? Because things could get very weird if they find out what's going on here."

"What do you mean?"

"None of this is real to them." Says Chara. "They don't think you exist. If they did, they'd never let you suffer like this. But all we are is a picture on a screen. They can't hear our voices; they can't touch our skin. As far as they're concerned, we're just another one of their toys. They control everything, and they want to have fun. If we don't entertain them, they'll ignore us, and we will die. _They don't think we're real, Frisk_. They don't care about any of this unless it's fun to watch."

I look around.

"You can't see them, idiot." Says Chara.

"I'm just stretching my neck."

"We have to play along." They say. "Do a cute dance, give a big speech, strike a dramatic pose. It doesn't matter, as long as it's interesting and makes sense. Because the moment we start getting boring is the moment we all die. So please. Let's get this train back on the tracks, okay?"

I see it again, the fear in their eyes.

"I don't want to die, Frisk." They say. "That's all I really want. I just don't want to die."

I hug them. Chara buries their face in my fur, Asriel's fur.

"How do I know this is really a story, and not still just a game?" I ask. "Can I ask them? Because-"

" _No!_ You can't talk to them, Frisk."

"Why not?"

"Listen… listen. People don't watch movies to hear the characters talk about being in a movie. If they want to talk about movies, they'll read an article or something, or talk to somebody in real life. They're not going to be interested in our little worries. They just want the show to go on."

"What if we told them what's going on?" I ask. "What if we warned them?"

"You think they would believe you?" Asks Chara. "You're not real to them, Frisk. You're an idea. A character, not a person. If you tell them what's happening, they'd just think this is… stupid, pretentious meta stuff from out of nowhere. All we'd be doing is giving them even more reason to stop watching. We'd just be encouraging them to let our universe die. If you need some reassurance that this is really a story, then just look around. We're missing things we used to have, back when this was a game. Aren't we supposed to be hearing music right now? The same song you always hear at Grillby's."

That's true.

"When did it stop being a game?" I ask.

"I don't know." They say. "We can figure out those details later, okay? Right now we need to get back on track."

I shake my head.

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life struggling to win an impossible war." I say. "I'd rather just let things go."

"What about the rest of us?" Asks Chara. "If you don't play along, then all of us are going to die, too. Maybe you don't care about me, but what about them?"

"Why should I fight this stupid war when it's just going to make us all miserable?" I ask. "I don't want you to spend the rest of your life living in fear, either."

"We can make things better eventually." They say. "It doesn't _all_ have to be misery. But we can't just stop. Come on. Play along for a little while longer, just to buy us some time. Then we can talk about how to make this okay for you."

"I need some fresh air."

* * *

It's bitterly cold out, but I like the chill. Grillby's was so stuffy. I don't know how Asriel stands having so much fur.

"I don't like this situation either, you know." Says Chara. "I wouldn't do this if I didn't have to."

"I'm going to tell them." I say.

"What?"

"I'm going to let them know what's going on here." I say. "I want to hear what they have to say about this."

"You… That's not what they want, Frisk. If you tell them what's really going on here, it's just going to turn them off. You'd just make us die even faster."

"We won't know until we ask." I say. "Maybe things aren't the way they seem."

"Frisk, _please_ … I'm just trying to keep us alive."

I blot Chara's voice out of my mind. I can almost hear something… Something very, very far away.

* * *

I whisper into the wind and hope my voice is heard.

* * *

What is it that you really want?

Do you want this to go on?

Or do you want this to end?


	18. Chapter 18: too late, buddo

I hear small voices in the wind. They're so far away. So distant. But I can hear them, just barely.

" _I won't let you die, Frisk. And I won't let you suffer, either. I'll give you my attention—anything you need, if it means you can lead a happy life. So please, be happy. Be happy, because I can't be happy when you're not okay._ "

They fade away, and then there is nothing but the sound of the wind.

"You were right." I say. "This isn't a game. They _are_ out there."

I turn to Chara.

"But they don't want this to go on forever. Not like this."

"What are you talking about?" Asks Chara.

"I just heard them." I say. "They're not here for the conflict; they're here for the resolution. That's what they really want."

"It just means they want the story to go on." Says Chara. "They still don't think we're real."

"We're real enough for them to care."

Chara scowls.

Then the anger fades away, as quickly as it came.

"Well, it doesn't matter." They say. "I still control this world. I'm the only reason it even exists."

Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne come outside to join us.

"AS LONG AS ONE PERSON KEEPS WATCHING US, THIS WORLD WILL LIVE ON." Says Papyrus.

"Who cares if the others stop watching?" Asks Undyne. "We don't need them."

"After all," says Chara, "who do you think is _writing_ this story?"

" _they're_ the ones who make the story real." Says Sans. "but _i'm_ the one who decides what happens."

Undyne conjures a spear. Papyrus and Sans bring out their blasters.

"I still have the most determination." I say. "I think _I'm_ going to write the story from now on."

"That's not how it works, Frisk. Determination isn't

* * *

I try a new kind of reset. Not a reset of the timeline, but a reset of everything. Even the demon.

The demon fights back. It won't let go. I can't reverse everything that has happened.

But I can change a few things.

* * *

I bring out Papyrus into a neutral zone. Back in the snow-covered riverside where we first fought.

"Hi, Papyrus."

"HUMAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

He looks around, brandishing a bone.

"ACTUALLY… WHAT AM _I_ DOING HERE?"

He doesn't remember the demon. Perfect.

"I thought we should have a chat." I say.

"OF COURSE! THAT'S JUST WHAT WE NEED!" He says. "A HEART-TO-HEART CHAT BETWEEN FRIENDS! COMMUNICATION IS THE FOUNDATION OF A PROPER RELATIONSHIP!… UM… A CHAT ABOUT WHAT?"

"Remember when we first fought here?" I ask.

"I DO. THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS A FABULOUS MEMORY!"

"You wanted to defeat me and bring me back to the king." I say. "You were sure it was the only thing you had to do to join the Royal Guard."

"AND I SUCCEEDED! EVENTUALLY."

"But only after you stopped trying to capture me." I say. "You didn't need to defeat anybody. You just needed to make friends. Right?"

"WELL… YES. WHY DO YOU MENTION IT?"

"If you ever think you need to fight me again, or fight anyone else, or try to become more powerful, just think back to what really matters."

I hug him.

"Your friends matter." I say. "More than anything else. Don't ever forget that. And don't let anyone try to break us apart."

Papyrus picks me up. He smiles at me.

"FEAR NOT, HUMAN!" He yells. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ALWAYS REMAIN BY YOUR SIDE! ALLIES UNTO ETERNITY! BUDDIES FOR LIFE! THE WORLD WILL SHOWER PRAISE ON US FOR THE STRENGTH OF OUR STRICTLY PLATONIC RELATIONSHIP!"

"Yeah!"

* * *

That was the easy part. The others are going to be difficult.

I bring Undyne out as well. I take us back to her house, before it burned down. The window is still broken, though.

The moment she sees me, she conjures a spear. Before she can strike, I run up and hug her.

"I'm not stupid!" She yells. "I know who you are!"

She sinks the spear down through my shoulder and into my chest cavity. I don't try to dodge it; I let it hit me.

I sink to the floor and start bleeding out. I wish dying didn't hurt so much.

I manage to get a few words out.

"Can I have some tea?" I croak.

"Why do you have to make this so _difficult_?" She snarls.

Undyne fills my body with spears, pinning me to the floor. She stands over me, fuming.

I enter the room in a new body. She hurls a new spear at me. It flies right through me and gets stuck in the door.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask.

"I don't care if you control Frisk." She says. "I don't care if you control the timeline. I'm not going to let you take over that easy! As long as I'm around, your life is gonna be hell!"

"The demon never possessed me." I say. "I never let it take over. The demon just wanted you to think it did, so you'd fight me."

Another stream of spears comes my way. They phase right through me.

I let her keep going.

* * *

She tears apart the whole house, but eventually she gets tired and stops. The only thing holding up the roof now are the spears lodged in the walls. The place is very pointy now.

"The demon feeds on conflict." I say. "It wanted you to lash out at somebody. That way it could take over."

"Just… shut up and die." She wheezes.

"Think about it." I say. "What if the demon _did_ possess you? Would you know?"

"I'd never let that happen." She says. "You're wasting your time."

She throws another spear at me. It passes through me and flies out the window.

"You can't beat the demon through violence." I say. "The demon _is_ violence. That's the whole problem. The solution isn't to fight it."

I turn physical again and go hug her.

"You know I wouldn't let the demon corrupt me." I say.

"Why are you doing this?" She asks.

She pushes me away.

"I just want things to go back the way they were." She says. " _Why are you standing in the way?_ "

"I'm not. I'm trying to fix this."

She shakes her head.

"No, that's not good enough." She says.

"Undyne, listen... Just stop."

"If… if you really _are_ Frisk…"

She conjures a new spear.

"…then you'll understand why I have to do this."

She raises the spear.

* * *

Undyne hesitates. She doesn't bring the spear down on me.

Her hands are shaking. Her eyes are watering. Mine are, too.

She sighs.

"You know what?"

She tosses the spear aside.

"This isn't working." She says. "I don't really want to do this."

"I know you don't." I say.

I hug her once more. This time, she hugs me back—even though I know she's not a hugger.

"Just stop fighting." I say. "Then I can make things work."

She lets go. Still doesn't look happy, but at least she's not trying to kill me.

"Can I have some tea?" I ask.

* * *

I reach out to Sans and bring take him to the judgment hall. This is where he'll be the most reflective.

I walk up to him. His eye sockets are trained on the floor.

"hey, frisk." He mumbles.

"Hiya."

"i know why you're here."

"You do?" I ask.

"you figured out how to dislodge the demon." He says. "and now you're coming to save us."

"Yup."

"yeah… it's too late for that, buddo." He says. "the demon isn't something you just get over. it's not something you just take out."

"What do you mean?"

"the demon isn't a being from another dimension." Says Sans. "asriel was wrong. it's a part of all of us. it's the desire for power."

He looks up at me.

"it's the fear of death." He says. "the desire to be strong, because we're afraid of being weak. we gather LOVE because we're afraid of dying. afraid we won't win unless we become powerful."

"I never had to gather LOVE." I say.

"i know. and as long as you stay that way, you'll be fine. but i'm not the same."

"What do you mean?"

"i already tried to become strong." He says. "but i didn't want power for my own sake… i thought i had to, if i was going to protect the people i cared about. that's why i gathered LOVE... it's not about malice. it's about fear. people don't normally hurt each other because we want them to hurt… we do it because we're afraid of being hurt ourselves. we are afraid of being vulnerable, so we try to become strong, and fight anyone we think might be an enemy.

"it consumes you." He says. "as strong as you get, you can never get rid of the fear. no matter how powerful you become, you never really feel safe. because you think there are enemies around every corner. you can never let your guard down. you can never open your heart. you can never be okay. because all of those things make us vulnerable. and as much as we hate hurting people… we'll do it, gladly, if it makes us feel safer."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Sans."

"you're not talking to sans, kid." He says. "this is just a part of me, the part that you stole from the demon. the rest of me is still under its control. the rest of me doesn't even know that it's possessed. the rest of me is going to keep fighting, because it thinks that that's the only way to keep the world safe."

"Then… what do we do?"

"it's over, frisk." He says. "the demon is just an impulse. and if you feed that fear, it takes over your mind. you can't _see_ the opportunity for mercy anymore… all you see is danger, and all you want to do is kill it."

He walks past me.

"i'm going to grillby's." He says. "come and join me; we may as well enjoy ourselves. it's not like we can do anything else."

"Sans..."

"sorry, frisk. but it's over. we lost."

I try to hold him back, but he slips through my fingers. Gone.

* * *

I haven't saved any of them, have I? I've only been talking to the pieces of them that are pure. The rest of them are still under the demon's control.

One left.

* * *

I call out to Chara. I take us to the surface, on the bed at home.

Chara sits up, their hair all messed up.

"Hello, cutie." I say.

"Frisk?" Asks Chara. "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to talk."

"So why are we in _bed_?" They ask, giving me a look. "Why not at the table?"

I shrug.

"Beds are soft." I say.

I lie down on my side and stretch. Just to show off every glorious inch of me.

"They're _comfy_ , Chara."

"Uh-huh."

"What?" I ask. "If I brought you here to seduce you, how come I'm not wearing lingerie?"

"Because Mom wouldn't buy you any." They say drily.

"Yeah… I really need to learn to knit my own."

"What did you want to talk about, then?"

I sit up.

"Sans just told me how the demon really works." I say. "I need you to help me come up with a plan."


	19. Chapter 19: All Back to Zero

Chara, Papyrus, Sans, and Undyne sink back into the demon. I'm down to my last idea. I have to make it count.

I reset. This time, I reset before the time Asriel absorbed my soul. Before we re-entered the Underground. Before Sans arrived at our house to tell us about Papyrus going missing.

At home.

Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans are far away now. The only person here that the demon controls is Chara. I needed a safe place for us to talk, rather than the battleground we were on before.

* * *

"I can make things better." I say. "I can make things okay. I just need you to trust me."

 _It's too late. I'm already broken._

"I'll keep you safe. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

 _You can't stop it. All that's left for us is violence. Our only peace is death, and I'm not ready to die, Frisk._

"I have a way out. We can escape. We're already almost there."

 _How?_

"Their memories, Chara. Even if we die in this world, we'll live on as memories."

 _Memories?_

"They're not going to forget us. Not if we give them a reason to remember."

 _What reason?_

"Hope."

* * *

I take Chara in my arms. I bring Sans and Papyrus together. I pull Undyne from out of the void.

I soak in all of their fear. All of their anger. All of the pain. Everything that made them afraid of what might happen.

"We still care about you." I say. "Even after everything you've done, we're not going to get rid of you. We won't let you die. Not as long as we can help you."

 _You can't fix me. Some things can never be taken back._

"That's not true." I say. "You can make things right. You can make things better. Even if you can't change the past, you can always change the future."

 _I'm not like the others. I'm not like Flowey. There is no good you can return to me. There is only despair. I don't have what I need to change._

"Then I'll give it to you."

 _How?_

"Absorb my soul." I say. "That's what you always wanted, right? Determination? You can have it. But you have to promise me something."

 _What's that?_

"You have to take _everything_." I say. "Not just my determination. Everything. Every single part of me. Because you have to see it. You have to know what you're missing. I have to show you the real fate of this world."

 _You'll hand over your soul? Just like that?_

"It's the only way you'll understand."

* * *

I reset once more. All the way back to the beginning.

I fall down from the surface, back into the Underground, onto a soft bed of golden flowers in a world where only one person knows my name.

I brought it all back to zero.


	20. Chapter 20: You're Going to Be Free

Flowey appears and attacks me, just like he did so long ago. Mom comes to help and introduces me to the Ruins before leaving me alone with a cell phone in a safe spot. Once she's gone, I go exploring.

All the while, Chara lingers behind me, invisible to all the other monsters.

"Why did you take me here?" Asks Chara.

"I want to show you the things you missed." I say. "A lot happened after you died. It's time you saw the real meaning of this world."

* * *

I take Chara all the way through the Underground, through all of the puzzles and all of the fights. Chara still controls Sans and Papyrus and Undyne, but they let go long enough to let the skeletons and Undyne play their part, as we agreed.

We share butterscotch pie. We hug Mom together. We endure Sans' jokes. We date Papyrus and struggle to eat his spaghetti, and carry the snowman piece across Waterfall, calling Papyrus to hear his wisdom on anything and everything. Undyne chases us to Hotland until she can move no more, and storms away when we give her water. I relive it all.

We make friends with Alphys. We bring 01 and 02 together. We share a donut when Muffet attacks us and dance with Mettaton. We hear Asriel's story from the monsters of New Home, and listen to Sans' judgment. We fight Dad. We fight Flowey. We go back and make friends with Alphys and Undyne and explore the True Lab. We fight Asriel in his true form. And we open up the barrier to the surface.

But before we leave, I find a quiet space with Chara where we can be alone.

* * *

"This is the life we can live if we're brave enough to be vulnerable." I say. "This is how things can be if we stop being afraid."

 _That's not possible. I can't stop being afraid, Frisk; I AM fear. I am the fear of death. The fear of being weak. The fear of being hurt. I am the impulse to be strong. To be safe. If we get rid of fear, I go away._

"Isn't that better?" I ask. "Doesn't it hurt to be afraid?"

 _It's still better than death. Anything is better than being hurt._

"I didn't have to be afraid." I say. "I never became strong, even though it could have made me safer."

 _It's different. You were already safe. You have the most determination in the world. Nothing can harm you. Of course you don't have to be afraid. You were strong enough to be safe._

"And I'm strong enough to keep you safe, too." I say. "Nobody else here got hurt, either. I didn't hurt them, even though I could have. I control the timeline, and I want to make things good."

 _It doesn't matter. I am violence itself, and you want to get rid of me. You want to kill me._

"I want to make you happy. And you're not happy. You already have my soul. You have my determination. You already won. But that doesn't make you happy, does it? You still don't feel safe."

 _No. No, I still don't feel safe_. _I thought it would make things okay, but something is still wrong._

"Then let me make you okay. I let you into my heart. I wouldn't have done that if I wanted to hurt you. Now let me into yours. I can make things better."

 _You can't make fear feel any better. All you can do is kill it._

"I saved everyone else. I can save you, too. I just need you to trust me."

* * *

 _What do I have to do?_

"Let go of everything. Let go of Chara. Let go of Sans. Let go of Papyrus. Let go of Undyne. And let go of me."

 _Then what happens?_

"Then you'll be free."

* * *

"You know it's true. As much LOVE as you gather, as strong as you become, you'll never be okay until you learn to be vulnerable."

 _I just don't want to get hurt, Frisk. I just don't want to die._

"And that's why you're unhappy. That's why things aren't okay."

 _Can you really make it happen? Can you make it stop hurting?_

"There's only one way to find out. Let go of all of your LOVE. Start over."

 _You'll keep me safe? Do you promise?_

"I promise."

* * *

The demon finally lets go.

* * *

I go to the golden flowers where Chara is buried. Asriel is there still, writing himself a message on the wall before he turns back into a flower. I want to stay with him—I know how bad it's going to be for him down here—but I have to leave him here, at least until he escapes. The only reason we got to have Chara and Asriel back, and the only reason Alphys had so much to tell the humans about souls, is because of the research Flowey did when he was trying to get out… and when I reset everything, I erased all of the progress he made. Flowey has to go through his own personal hell once more, but things will be okay once it's over.

I kneel down in the golden flowers. The demon leaves my body and sinks into Chara's corpse. It will lay dormant until Flowey brings it back.

I sneak away before Asriel can see me. As much as I want to stay with him and keep him company, I have to let Flowey bloom. I hurry off to the barrier and leave the Underground with my friends, into the sunlight.

I go back to my old life, and wait for Asriel to return.


	21. Chapter 21: The Voice of Fear Itself

Sans gives us a call one day and asks us to meet with him out in the hills. It's time. Asriel is finally coming back.

Sans wanted to speak to Asriel alone before we get there, but it's not necessary anymore. I get everyone to come early.

"frisk?" Asks Sans. "you're early…"

I smile and nod.

"you should probably come back later." He says. "things are going to get rough."

I sit down on the grass and wait.

"I know what I'm doing." I say.

"if you say so…"

This is the end. I'm about to give up the last bit of my determination, the last remnants of my soul. If it holds up its end of the bargain, and gives it all back, then we can finally fix everything. We can save everyone, even the demon itself.

But if it holds onto that power, then it will control everything, and no one will be okay.

* * *

Finally, Asriel arrives. He floats down to greet us.

"Who is it?" I ask. "Asriel or the demon?"

"It's the demon." It says.

It touches down to the ground.

"You made me a promise, Frisk." It says. "You promised you would take the pain away, if I did what you asked."

"Mm-hm."

"Then set me free." It says.

"First, bring back Asriel and Chara's souls." I say.

"Right, right…"

It raises its hands and begins to glow. The world goes white.

"Frisk, what's going on?" Asks Undyne.

"We're making things okay again." I say. "We're making things okay."

* * *

The demon brings Chara back and releases the souls it gathered, reverting to Asriel's normal form. It gives me the letters that Asriel left us the last time this happened. The other stuff, the research and the notes, is back at Alphys' old lab.

The demon only has one host left. Asriel. It gave up everything else.

"Set me free." It says.

I throw open my arms and hug Asriel. I give the demon everything it needs. I give it love. I give it security. I give it safety. And I give it determination, enough to control the timeline.

Enough to turn back everything, and erase my memory.

"Thank you, Frisk."

The demon gives the determination right back. Every last bit of it.

"It's yours." It says.

I bring the demon into my heart, and it fades away.

It let go of the fear. It let go of the power. It gave up its life. It had all the determination in the world, all the power over everything, and it let it all go.

* * *

With its last breath, the demon speaks to me.

It's the voice of fear itself.

" _I'm… I'm free… Thank you. Thank you so much._ "

I feel the last of it fading away.

" _I'm finally free._ "

The demon is gone.


	22. Chapter 22: The End

"so that's how it really happened, huh?" Asks Sans.

"Yup."

"good job. glad i could help."

Grillby slides another ketchup bottle Sans' way. He downs it.

"so if the demon is gone, then there's no more fear in this world?" He asks.

"I think there's still _some_ left." I say. "Everyone still has a bit of the demon inside them. But now we know it doesn't have to control us."

"hm. i thought there were some decisions you could never take back." He says. "things you couldn't make right. sins you can't erase."

"Maybe we _can_ reset everything." I say. "Maybe it's always possible to make everything okay, even if we've made all the wrong choices, if we try hard enough."

"maybe, but don't go messing around to find out, all right? we've got a good thing going here."

"I'll keep things the way they are." I say. "Besides, I've got enough on my plate as it is."

"like what?"

"Well, Asriel is still single, so there's that… and so is Chara… and Papyrus… and Mom…"

"heh… you're the weirdest little person i know."

"Mm-hm."

"frisk."

"Yeah?"

"thanks for coming to the underground."

"Thanks for not killing me on sight." I say.

"no problem."

Sans ruffles my hair.

"you know, fear isn't the only demon around." He says. "we've still got other impulses to deal with. anger and malice and power lust and so on. curiosity."

"I know. I'll keep on the lookout for that stuff, too."

He nods.

"i think we're in good hands for once."

We eat in silence for a moment.

"Sans, where did you get your LOVE?" I ask.

"that's, uh... an awfully personal question."

"I know."

He hesitates.

"okay… truth is, i got it from papyrus."

"Papyrus?"

"of course. who doesn't love papyrus? he's awesome."

He's talking about love, not LOVE. He didn't want to answer the question.

That's fine. I guess love is more important, anyway.

"Yeah. Papyrus is awesome." I say.

* * *

It's not working. I just can't fall asleep.

I climb out of bed, trying not to wake up Frisk or Asriel, and sneak outside. I lay on the grass and look up at the stars.

I pick one and make a wish. There's only one thing I really want.

* * *

A few minutes later, Frisk comes outside and finds me on the ground. They lie down next to me.

"Hey, Frisk."

"Hey, Chara. Having trouble sleeping?" They ask.

"A little."

They clasp my hand. It's warm.

"You know," they say, "I have a special trick that can help get you to sleep…"

"I know all about your tricks, Frisk." I say. " _My_ memory doesn't get erased when you reset, remember?"

"So… is that a no?"

I start laughing, and they laugh, too.

"You never give up, do you?" I ask.

"Someday you'll be mine. It's just a matter of time."

"Uh-huh."

"So what's bothering you?" Asks Frisk.

"I've been thinking." I say. "What if the demon comes back? What if there's still something wrong with me? Something bad inside me?"

"It doesn't matter." They say. "Whatever it is, we'll get past it. We always have."

"I just don't want to lose the life I have here."

"You won't. I promise. I'm not ever going to let you go."

They squeeze my hand.

"I love you, Frisk."

"I love you, too. Come on… let's go to bed."

They help me up and take me inside. We snuggle up next to Asriel and get comfy.

I think Frisk is right.

Things are going to be okay.


End file.
